volunteering Archives

Above: Volunteer in red tee-shirt throwing ball to tennis player

To celebrate National Volunteers week, we hear from Linda Almond, a sighted volunteer who volunteers with Metro Blind Sport’s Tennis. Linda organises a rota of volunteers, as well as volunteering herself, for the Metro Blind Sport’s tennis sessions at Islington Tennis Centre every other Wednesday.

“I had seen a small announcement that the National Visually Impaired Tennis Championships were taking place at the National Tennis Centre. I was intrigued and also had never seen the NTC before so went with two other Highgate members to have a look. The players were so welcoming and took the time to explain the rules to us,” she says.

“While talking we said to let us know if ever they were doing anything in our area and needed the help of sighted volunteers. Little did we know that the next year they would hold the championships at Islington Tennis Centre and then start regular tennis sessions there!”

“This Wednesday Islington session is for blind players and for visually impaired beginners, we also organise some social sessions in the summer at Highgate club. I have also helped with the National Championships since 2011 and this year at the first regional tournament at Sutton. I organise a rota of volunteers to help with everything during the sessions from picking up balls, calling the lines, guiding players to court and even looking after the guide dogs!

Volunteering has been an amazing experience for me, the people I have met while helping with Blind Tennis have been so lovely and appreciative. I started helping to benefit them but their attitude to life is also an inspiration to me. It is also great exercise. Whilst helping at the Sutton tournament recently my Fitbit recorded over 11 miles and 25,800 steps!!

I’d encourage anyone to get involved in volunteering even if you’re not into tennis. It’s a perfect chance for young children to help too and we have had a few families helping. It’s also a perfect Duke of Edinburgh volunteering opportunity for young people, I’d encourage everyone to get involved!”

To find out more about volunteering opportunities within tennis click here.
original article by the tennis foundation

Original article from https://speedvolunteer.london.gov.uk

Team London has launched a free app which matches volunteers with local speed volunteering opportunities, making it possible for busy people to commit a small amount of time to suit their schedules.

The Mayor Boris Johnson today witnessed first-hand the impact that speed volunteering is having on lives across the capital, as he launched a new app – the first of its kind in the country – to make it easier for more Londoners to become volunteers.

Download the App today to get involved or search ‘Team London’ in the Apple App Store (currently only available for IOS). Speed volunteering page link

As London begins its year as the European Volunteering Capital, Team London, the Mayor’s successful volunteering programme, has launched a unique, free app, which matches volunteers with local speed volunteering opportunities, making it possible for busy people to commit a small amount of time to suit their schedules. The app has been created in response to research that found 59 per cent of people are deterred from volunteering because of lack of time due to work commitments.*

The Mayor today met GoodGym speed volunteers, a team of runners who keep fit at the same time as doing good in the community. GoodGym receives funding through the Mayor’s Team London initiative and the Mayor joined them at The Passage homeless charity in Victoria to help clear away Christmas decorations and clean up the centre’s communal areas.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “As we start our year as the top city in Europe for volunteering, I urge Londoners to make it their New Year’s Resolution to join our volunteering revolution. Team London has created an incredible volunteering legacy for the capital, and through this new, free app, it is now easier than ever to use a little of your spare time to make the city an even better place to live in.”

GoodGym is just one of over 80,000 volunteering opportunities available in London, with activities that include befriending older Londoners, planting trees and working with young people. Some of the many varied opportunities currently offered via Team London’s website include creating social media content for education charity WORLDwrite, maintaining ponds and wildlife areas at Sutton Community Farm and teaching people to read and write at homeless charity Providence Row.

Partnership Manager at GoodGym, Ed Field said: “Funding from Team London has allowed us to massively expand what we do. We’ve been able to offer more GoodGym sessions to more people than ever before, bringing hundreds of new Londoners into volunteering all across the capital. London has such a rich community of voluntary organisations doing great things for the city and so we are always looking for new runners to meet their demand. You don’t need to be an experienced runner or commit long term, just turn up, give a helping hand and get fit at the same time. Why not join us?”

As well as Team London funding for GoodGym, the Mayor is also providing funding for The Passage, London’s largest voluntary sector resource centre for homeless and vulnerable people. The charity, which helps up to 200 men and women every day, has received £381,780 through the Mayor’s Homelessness Change and Platform for Life programme.

Mick Clarke, CEO of The Passage, said: “The Passage welcomes the Mayor’s leadership in encouraging more people to get involved in volunteering within their local communities. The Passage has a 4:1 volunteer to staff ratio and we simply could not deliver our diverse services, which enable so many people to end their homelessness for good and get back into employment and society, without the support of hundreds of volunteers, including those from the GoodGym initiative.”

London was named the best city in Europe for volunteering 2016 at a ceremony last month, beating off competition from 10 other rival cities. The city scooped the title of European Volunteering Capital 2016 in recognition of the innovative programmes the Mayor has developed as a legacy of London 2012, when volunteering took centre stage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since then, the Mayor’s volunteering initiative Team London has mobilised over 120,000 active volunteers including 60,000 school children and young people.

Original article from https://speedvolunteer.london.gov.uk

Tag Archives: volunteering

Volunteering has been an amazing experience for me’

New speed volunteering app launched to get more Londoners volunteering