By now, students will be settled into their year at university. Whether you’re in your first or final year, you’ll have already completed seemingly endless amounts of assignments. Now, of course, university isn’t for everyone. However, as someone who has spent two years at university (so far), I can say that it is hard. It’s hard to balance all these new aspects of your life – self-motivated study, meeting new people, house-hunting, food shopping, finding a club that your random mix of mates can all enjoy, cooking, and actually finding the time and summoning the effort to clean your house. Despite this, I’m about to tell you to add volunteering to the mix.
Now, I’m not going to pretend like the majority of students don’t see volunteering as a CV booster. But these same students then realise that volunteering can offer so much more than a bullet point on a piece of paper. It can offer you essential life skills that you can’t develop anywhere else. The issue is that these benefits aren’t often highlighted by universities. As a result, students may not be getting into volunteering in the first place.
The Benefits of Student Volunteering
Meeting new people
Whether you’ve been at uni for a few years already or you’ve just started this year, it’s never a bad time to meet new people. These people could become your friends, best friends, or even future partners. Even if you never talk to them again at least you’ve met someone you can give an awkward wave to when you pass them in public.
Aside from gaining some mates, volunteering could also be a good opportunity for networking. Sounds strange but you never know who you might meet through volunteer work. Also, in a recent catch-up with El Afzal, she noted that people have contacted her through LinkedIn about her vast volunteer work and offered her potential future work.
Giving back to the community
Let’s face it – the vast majority of us have had a few embarrassing nights as a result of the student lifestyle. What better way to say sorry to our local community for all the drunken shouting and traffic cone theft (yes, it’s a big thing) than to volunteer for a local cause. Whether it’s the classic charity shop work or a local park clean-up, you can give back to the community you’ll be calling home for the next few years.
Relieving all that student stress
I don’t mean to scare any prospective students, but university is stressful. It’s all fun and games during fresher’s week but suddenly you’ve been there for two months and are already drowning in assignments and lecture notes you should have somehow organised. Volunteering can be a great way to distance yourself from all the hustle and bustle of university life for a couple of hours a week (or more!) You may be wondering how you’ll fit volunteering into such a busy schedule, but you’re lying if you say you don’t procrastinate for at least a couple hours a day – whether you’re scrolling through social media or binge-watching that new TV show.
Also, research shows that if you volunteer during your student years, you’re likely to continue throughout your life. Wouldn’t it be nice to live a life full of voluntary work? I think it would.
How can TeamKinetic help?
Are you a student looking to get into volunteering? Check with your university’s student union or sports department for any active opportunities. You could also give this blog by The Student Room a read – it includes some helpful information about student volunteering!
Perhaps you work for a university wanting to commit more to student volunteering? This blog might be better for you! Find out how TeamKinetic can work with you to recruit, manage, and retain your student volunteers byvisiting our website or calling us on 0161 914 5757.
Whether you’re student or staff, you can find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We share and create content suitable for anyone interested in volunteering!
You can also read our other blogs on student volunteering here and here.
In 2016, more than 725,000 students volunteered. This may seem like a big number, but it was actually only around 31% of the total student population. We think it can be much higher. The benefits of volunteering are massive. From improving students’ confidence to making a difference in the local community, volunteering can be a valuable activity for any organisation to place emphasis on. As a result, we believe that every university should have volunteer management software.
There are many different types of volunteering for your students to get involved with. Popular uses of volunteer management software for universities often relate to careers, student placement services, the student union, and sport. Sport is a popular area here at TeamKinetic; Cardiff Metropolitan, Nottingham, and Manchester Metropolitan are just some of the many academic institutions already using our system for their student volunteers.
Why not take a look at one of those websites to get a better idea of how our systems work?
It appears that people are getting involved in volunteering from a younger age. 70% of 18–24-year-olds reported volunteering at some point. This age range probably accounts for the vast majority of university students, so why not support them by giving them a better system to volunteer through? Why not take the plunge and get volunteer management software?
(Figures from NCVO’s Time Well Spent report, you can view the report here.)
So… why should you use volunteer management software?
With UK plans to double the percentage of students who study, work or volunteer as part of their degree by 2020, investing in a good volunteer management system now would be beneficial to any university.
Universities making an appropriate investment in high quality provision of student volunteering, they not only support students and their communities, but they can derive benefits aligned with their strategic plan and improve the value added to students beyond their studies.
Volunteer management software has a range of features that you can put to good use!
Any good volunteer management system will save you massive amounts of time. Especially in terms of registering volunteers and making them aware of volunteering opportunities. While also reducing the need for paper-based documents which can make your offices cluttered and disorganised.
Easily creating reports and collecting data on your volunteers is another benefit of volunteer management software. You should have the ability to see how many volunteers are registered to your system, how many opportunities have been advertised, how many hours have been logged, and more. This will also save you bags of time and make data collection more fun than ever! (Might have gone a bit too far with that one… Let’s just say it will make data collection less tedious!)
One increasingly essential aspect of volunteer management is the communication between providers (the university) and volunteers (your students). With volunteer management software, you can easily reach out to your volunteers about, well, anything really. Volunteers can even chat amongst themselves on some systems. This is especially helpful if they’re nervous about volunteering alone or for the first time – something that can be common among students.
While volunteer management software can really help your university, it can also be of substantial benefit to your students. As a student myself, I know I’d much rather sign up to a volunteering system and instantly see all active opportunities than drop someone an email and wait for them to get back to me.
How TeamKinetic can help
As a Manchester-based company, we’re quite pleased about the number of hours logged by our local universities in the North West! Grafters.
We already work with a range of universities across the UK. Our software isn’t all about how many hours have been logged. Yet it’s still nice to take a step back and appreciate all the hours of hard work put in by students over the years! See how many hours have been logged by region to the right… Perhaps your university could help add to these hours!
Specifically, our system has features that will make your life as a volunteer manager easier, while encouraging your students to sign up to volunteer.
Through volunteer grouping, you could sort volunteers by sports club, society, or degree type. This can allow you to invite students to volunteer for things you know they’ll be interested in.
Our reports can help you collate data around: gender, ethnicity, group, as well as the type of opportunities your students are getting involved with most. We can also offer custom reporting services to help you get the most out of our software.
Our achievement levels sort volunteers by how many hours they’ve completed. This can be used by you to offer your students bespoke rewards based on their time spent volunteering. It’s always nice to give back to volunteers, and it keeps them coming back!
Don’t just take our word for it – hear from people who have used the software!
Previous MMU Volunteer Coordinator – Emily Roche
How has the TeamKinetic software helped you manage your volunteers?
“Team Kinetic software has given our volunteering team the ability to oversee the diverse range of volunteering we have going on at the University. We can also now create a Reward and Recognition scheme which covers all of these roles by tracking the number of hours across these voluntary roles.”
What specific features of the TeamKinetic system do you find most useful?
“The most useful feature of Team Kinetic is the fact that it links to other networks in Manchester. This means that students can get involved with a variety of opportunities without us having to go out and search for the right contact for them. We can then also keep track of where this is happening, what students are interested in doing, and contact these organisations ourselves.”
A study by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagementfound that many students volunteer at festivals to gain skills and/or develop their career prospects. However, a ‘substantial’ selection of universities don’t work with festival organisers to advertise these roles to students. As a result, this should be a key focus for universities to expand their engagement activities for the benefit of their students and the general public.
“I’ve always loved helping people. I’ve been volunteering from a young age back home and received a few awards from it. So I wanted to continue that during my studies. It’s a humbling and rewarding feeling when you volunteer and help others.”
What did you get out of volunteering?
“Besides the benefits of receiving MMU Sport colours and tiered rewards for logging hours, I was able to receive great references for my new job while enhancing my character and views of people.”
Would you recommend volunteering to new/current students? And why?
“Yes definitely! Even if it’s like an hour a week that could help change someone or a charity or a group. There are events that are one time things that are great if you can’t commit to a fixed schedule. You get to meet new people and even sometimes potential companies, depending on your degree and where you volunteer. It’s also a great opportunity to put down on your CV for the future as well.”
Why not give your students the same benefits that MMU and their students, such as Sophia, receive while volunteering at university?
Still need convincing?
Read our other blogs on how we’ve helped universities with their volunteering systems below:
Let’s be honest, Christmas time is a mixed bag. Some people love it, some hate it. For some, it’s a time full of family, friends, food, and celebration. For others, it can be stressful or lonely.
Activities and events hosted by volunteers can be essential for many over the holidays. Being surrounded by happiness when your own situation is the opposite can be awful. But these activities give people a much-needed boost.
Now of course, volunteering isn’t just for Christmas. The work of volunteers is essential throughout the whole year. However, we live in a time where it’s been revealed that: – There are around 800 more foodbanks in the UK than McDonald’s branches. – Around four million children are currently living in poverty in the UK. – Almost a million older people feel lonelier at Christmas. – At least 135,000 children will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation across Britain on Christmas day. It’s fair to say that we all need to spread a bit of love and compassion this time of year and beyond.
So… what can you do to help?
If you’re yet to set plans this Christmas, why not check out volunteering opportunities near you? There may be a place offering food to the less fortunate, or a service preventing people from spending the festive period alone.
For students staying in their university’s city over the holidays, volunteering can be a great way to spend free time. It gives you something to do while helping locals and generally improving the community. Check out your university’s volunteering page (they should have one!) for things you can get involved with. Or you can try and find opportunities here.
You could also check out local organisations and clubs, both online and at their offices/HQs. For example, me and Milo went to volunteer at the Liverpool FC Foundation over summer and had a great time. Usually, community-based organisations will have a lot of activities on over the festive period that you can help out with.
In additon, you can help out local charities by acting as a fundraiser for them. People may be strapped for cash around Christmas but will often spare a few pennies for a good cause!
Still stuck for ideas? You could see if Crisis or Shelter have any opportunities near you. They both provide help for homeless people at this critical time of year. By volunteering with organisations like these, you can make a real difference to people experiencing homelessness.
Does it really make a difference?
Short answer: yes. Multiple stories can be seen reported in local media outlets of how volunteers have helped to improve the Christmas period for individuals and groups. One example describes a man who was helped by volunteers and was then inspired to give back to his community.
While volunteering helps others, it can also help you. It has been found to lower stress and increase happiness. A perfect combination just in time for Christmas!
If you need help organising your volunteers over this busy festive period, don’t hesitate to reach out to see how TeamKinetic can help! Give us a call on 0161 914 5757 or visit our website.
“You’re joking not ANOTHER one?!” The viral video from the last General Election still stands relevant today only two years later. In a time where Brexit has had more dates than most of the British public, we’re back awaiting yet another General Election.
There have been six elections in my 20 years on this Earth and four of them have happened since 2010.
That’s four elections in nine years.
If we were sticking to how often elections were actually supposed to take place we’d be waiting for our second election since 2010 right now… I think it’s fair to say our current government is quite unstable.
Anyway, I digress. The real reason for this blog is to highlight how these election campaigns would be nothing without the hard work of volunteers. Work that is probably made even harder with the rate we’re having these elections at.
Campaign volunteers for all parties work tirelessly to traverse through neighbourhoods, talking to residents and giving out leaflets that will probably just end up in the bin. (If you do bin them at least recycle… Especially if it’s a Green leaflet you’re binning.)
Without the work of these volunteers, politicians from all parties would not be able to get their messages out as quickly and reach as many people across the country. In some places, volunteers even offer services to help people get to their polling station, giving everyone as much chance as possible to vote.
What can volunteer managers learn from political campaign volunteering?
Flexibility
The flexible nature of campaign volunteering could inspire the structure of other volunteering opportunities. For many people, volunteering is too time-consuming and structured to fit around their busy schedules. What campaign volunteering does well is it allows the volunteer to choose when they give their time, with no real commitments. This opens up the opportunities to a wider range of people who are willing to help out.
Another thing is the range of activities volunteers can choose from. A quick visit to any party’s website shows you that you can do a range of activities. From knocking on local residents’ doors to inputting data and answering phone calls in offices. Flexibility like this is likely to encourage more people to sign up and volunteer.
If volunteer recruitment is what you’re after, maybe look to campaign volunteering for some tips.
Use of Technology
Technology is used massively in elections. Especially in today’s society where we seem to go no longer than five minutes without our phones. In particular, parties make use of social media to both rally supporters and attack the opposition.
Hopefully, more general examples of volunteer management don’t involve attacking anyone online. We can still learn a thing or two from the use of social media platforms to communicate with volunteers and get them enthusiastic about opportunities.
Making information about opportunities more accessible, i.e. posting about them on social media, will encourage volunteers to sign up. Posting about experiences of other opportunities – perhaps with pictures/video from the day – can also help new volunteers feel more comfortable deciding to work with your organisation.
Take a look at this tweet from the Labour Party. Here, they recognise and show the work of their volunteers. This would certainly make me more comfortable with the idea of doing some campaign volunteering!
As millions went back to work yesterday, thousands of you hit streets and stations across the country to protest against #TheDailySqueeze
We want to say a massive thank you to our brilliant volunteers! If you were out campaigning, see if you can spot yourself in our video 👇 pic.twitter.com/tPp5kDm7WS
We offer volunteer management software for organisations of all sizes. This includes tools to recruit, manage, and reward volunteers. For more information on how we can help you, feel free to contact us on social media (Twitter/Facebook), visit our website, or give us a ring on 0161 914 5757.
Volunteer managers are vital to a number of organisations and do a lot more than you may even realise. Managers should be celebrated all year, not just on the 5th of November. We’d like to say a huge well done to all the volunteer managers we work with and have met; keep up the amazing work!
Importance of volunteering
Let’s go back to basics… Why should we place so much importance on volunteering in the first place?
Well, volunteering has a range of benefits:
It’s good for your mental and physical health.
It connects you to others, allowing you to make friends and improve social skills.
It can advance your career, teaching you valuable job (and life) skills.
It brings fun and fulfilment to your life while letting you give back to your local community.
Even reduces the risk of mortality!
Volunteer Managers
Volunteer managers all across the world help to bring these benefits to people who work with their organisation, making them one of the most important positions at any non-profit. They have to keep volunteers engaged, excited about the work, and productive. It is also important that the volunteer manager thank volunteers for their contributions by any small means possible, being polite can mean a lot to your volunteers.
While the volunteer manager is responsible for rewarding their volunteers, we believe they should be recognized for all their hard work too. What better day to celebrate them on than International Volunteer Managers Day?
Perfect time to say thank you
If you’re a volunteer, work for a non-profit, or just know someone who is a volunteer manager, why not send them a quick message thanking them for all their hard work? And if you’ve come across this blog on any day other than the 5th of November, you can still thank them! We shouldn’t feel like we need an excuse to appreciate the hard work of others.
Thinking of becoming a volunteer manager?
Here are a few things you can expect to be in your job role.
Working with departments within your own organisation or with organisations for which you’re recruiting volunteers (e.g. charities and councils). By understanding how they work and developing partnerships.
Generating appropriate volunteering opportunities based on the needs of the organisation.
Promoting volunteering (internally and externally) through recruitment and publicity strategies and campaigns.
Ensuring there are appropriate supports and training for volunteers.
This is just a few, to say the least, but you never know what your future may hold. We could be celebrating you on a day like today.
Are you a volunteer manager wondering how to make your life easier?
Why not look into volunteer management software? It can save you massive amounts of time and let you direct your efforts to what really matters. What’s more, any good system will allow your volunteers to take ownership of their accounts, show you a variety of reports, and enable you to reward those who give their time for you.
If you’re interested, go to our website, follow us on socials, and check out what TeamKinetic can do for you.
There are many alarming issues highlighted in today’s society. Unemployment, lack of funding in the NHS, the destruction of our environment, and of course Brexit – just to name a few! However, not all stories are so negative. There are thousands of volunteering stories that are challenging some of these issues.
Unemployment
Currently, 3.7% of the UK are not in work – that’s around 2.5 million people! Now, some of you may be thinking “what’s that got to do with volunteering?”. Many studies & statistics show that volunteering can help boost employment for individuals. Sports clubs, in particular, have done a lot to boost employment opportunities through volunteering.
Newcastle United FC transformed the life of one of their staff who came to England from Syria as a refugee. Hikmat didn’t know much English or have many qualifications, but his attitude and desire to learn were unmatched. Despite his lack of experience, Newcastle took on Hikmat in a volunteering role, giving him a chance to prove himself. Since starting in 2013, he has been directly involved in many Premier League projects including helping out at children’s hospitals over the busy Christmas period.
Helping the elderly
Numerous elderly people
in the United Kingdom have no living children or close relatives to help them
in their daily care. Many relocate to areas which are far from their hometown,
making it nearly impossible to provide the assistance required. As a result,
many seniors spend much of their time living in isolation and loneliness. They
often rely on the services of volunteers to provide services and opportunities
for socialisation and entertainment.
These findings imply
that adolescent volunteering may increase resilience over time and that
school-based volunteering programs may help prevent criminal involvement over
the course of a person’s life.
It would also suggest that volunteering from an early age is likely to mean that you are less prone to getting into trouble with the law. This will be beneficial to today’s society and it lays down a foundation for future generations.
Inspire the adults of tomorrow, today!
Building on the point of
reducing crime rates, giving the youth of today a positive role model is
important. Young people aspire to be who they look up to and who that person is
can change the course of their life. Because of this, by pushing young people
to volunteer the chances are they are less likely to look up to people who may
be a bad influence, and more likely to want to be someone who brings something
positive to society.
In 2018, only 39% of people aged 16-24 volunteered and even some of those people only said that they did it once a year. A lot needs to be done to drastically increase this number if we want to improve society and produce a higher amount of upstanding adults. Highlighting the charitable work that celebrities do would be a good way to inspire the youth to volunteer.
People such as Angelina Jolie, David Beckham, and Miley Cyrus have all been heavily involved with charitable work in the past (stay tuned for a blog on celeb charity work!). These role models can help give a positive stigma around the way charity work/volunteering is viewed.
Volunteers make great events
It’s not only the deprived that can use volunteering to change their lives. Many major events use volunteers and without them, the events simply wouldn’t be possible. In the 2012 Olympics over 70,000 “games makers” made the games what they were. Many international fans and athletes described the volunteers as “world-class”, see the video below for more.
A further event that was made successful by volunteering was the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The tournament had a total of around 2,500 volunteers with roles that varied from; welcoming fans to organising matches and helping out the media. The volunteers were given their own space: The Volunteer Centre. This was described as a friendly, hospitable space, where volunteers could get together, chat about their experiences and have some fun when they are off duty. Hear more about the World Cup volunteers in this video.
Volunteers at both these events had to pay for their travel to and from some paying huge amounts to get to do their particular roles. However, many said that it was the best experience of their lives and it was all totally worth it.
Read more about how volunteering has helped sporting events here.
How can TeamKinetic help?
Managing volunteers can often be a big struggle for people in the third sector. This is where TeamKinetic can help you. We offer a volunteer management system that can help you recruit, manage and retain your volunteers. If you would like to find out more please do not hesitate to visit our website and book a free demo today!
Alternatively, you can contact us on our social media pages:
Across Greater Manchester, 5,564 people are homeless. Homelessness in Manchester City Centre has dramatically increased over the past 5 years.
What is Nightstop?
Nightstop is a service run by Depaul UK. It provides young homeless people with emergency overnight accommodation. Saving them from facing a night on the streets or an unsafe place. The services are run by communities and charities in more than 31 locations around the UK, including Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow.
Nightstop is a unique project which relies on volunteer hosts to provide a safe, welcoming place for young people in crisis. These hosts are ordinary members of the community who volunteer to open their homes to young people aged 16 to 25. In 2018, they had 603 registered volunteer homes which helped provide a safe place for 1,224 young people to stay the night.
Why it’s needed
The service they provide is admirable, opening your home to a stranger can’t be easy but these volunteers are helping to tackle what has, unfortunately, become quite a big problem in Manchester. Recent research shows that Manchester has one of the highest rough sleeping rates in the country, as well as the highest number of deaths of homeless people. This is an issue that needs to be addressed and Depaul are doing that through all their work – including this service.
We recently visited the Nightstop Greater Manchester offices to meet with the team and learn more about what they do. We got some great stories from some amazing volunteers as well as their service manager. The work they do for homeless young people is inspiring.
From left to right:Rosemary (Volunteer), Dave (Nightstop Service Manager), Beth (Community Partnership Coordinator at Depaul UK), Milo (TeamKinetic).
We’ll be uploading a new video from our visit to Nightstop every day this week, either on YouTube, social media, or both – so keep your eyes peeled!
You might remember our blog from last year when TeamKinetic’s Ash went down to the LFC Foundation to volunteer for the day. Well, this year it was Alex (me!) and Milo’s turn to have a day out. It’s fair to say we had a good time!
The journey
Our first business of the day was coffee. After a quick stop to Caffè Nero, armed with caffeine, we made our way to Manchester Piccadilly.
We arrived around 8:30 am with a comfortable amount of time to find our platform and get on the train. We then settled down to enjoy the hour-long trip to Liverpool Lime Street. Once in Liverpool, we had a bit of taxi trouble caused by my lack of geographical knowledge about the city! Eventually arriving at around 10 am, we were ready to get stuck in.
Finally arrived!
We were greeted by Dawn (the foundation’s volunteer manager) who filled us in on our duties for the day and gave us a lovely LFC Foundation t-shirt. Once kitted out, we threw ourselves in straight away with the warm-up game led by one of the LFC Foundation coaches. After embarrassing myself with a terrible dance move (it was part of the game I swear!), I was introduced to Rosie. She had attended the event the year before but seemed a bit shy – something I can relate to sometimes! I happily stuck with Rosie through the day’s activities.
The activities… aka 30-minute examples of how unfit I am!
The first activity on our schedule for the day was a mini-game of Boccia. I thought this would be a good, chilled start to the day… Well, I was wrong, the game is surprisingly competitive! I started out on the blue team, ready to ride or die for my teammates. Along the way, however, I was tossed between teams so much that my loyalties faded and I just wanted to win, regardless of the colour! After a highly enjoyable game, the team I was on won 7 – 6 in the end – which just so happened to be blue!
After this, we moved on to the big stuff – actual physical activity. One of the activities at this station was to dribble through cones with a football a few times each. As someone who hasn’t played football since the end of the uni year (April), I think my effort was respectable. Although, I have to admit it wasn’t my best work!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the activity. It made me seriously consider joining the gym, but then again, a session at the gym wouldn’t be as fun as this was. While I was having a good time, when I heard the word “lunch” being thrown around I was more excited than I should have been (I did miss breakfast to be fair).
Time to chill…
Sitting down for lunch, my new buddy Rosie and I got a chance to chat. She seemed to get a lot out of these events that the LFC Foundation host. By this time I think she was coming out of her shell a little bit more and it was great to see the positive impact of the day on her mood. She was there with her brother and mother who was also a volunteer with the foundation. This was just one example of how the event was inclusive for all the family.
Thank you to everyone for attending our Inclusive Sports Day at the LFC Academy and to all our staff, volunteers and Academy players for helping at the event ! A brilliant day for over 80 families with plenty of sport and fun on offer! Well done all! 🤩🔴🎉⚽️ #Inclusionpic.twitter.com/tFT8Hh7exY
As we finished for lunch I was really looking forward to the next activities – I didn’t want the day to end! Our next activity was a few mini-games involving footballs and a goal, one of which was a penalty shootout. Something about giving my full effort and booting a ball, potentially at a child’s face, felt wrong to me so I took it easy. That was until the LFC Coach stepped in the goal and we all got a go against him. Now this, I was taking seriously! Thankfully my years of playing football didn’t let me down and I scored. I think this was my favourite station – after Boccia, of course!
Note: they brought out the Champions League trophy towards the end of this session and I fangirled a bit. At the end of the day it’s just a piece of metal, but what a beautiful, shiny, hunk of metal it is. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s anything I’ll be seeing my beloved Sheffield United win anytime soon!
All volunteers got a photo with the trophy!
Nearing the end…
With two stations to go, I was starting to realise the day was almost over. The first of our last two activities was an exercise involving lots of high/low fives. Afterwards, a few players from the Liverpool FC academy came over for a chat. The attendees got to ask the players a few questions. My favourite one was a bit of a cheeky one about money that they weren’t allowed to answer!
We then arrived at our last station of the day – a challenge where we had to throw beanbags to land on a target and a blind penalty shootout with what I can only describe as jingly balls. After realising I was no good at throwing beanbags, I turned my attention to the penalty shootout. The players were blindfolded as they tried to defend the goal from the non-blindfolded player rolling the ball into the net. The balls jingled as they rolled, giving an audible cue as to where they were and allowing the keepers to at least try and save them. This game just proved how accessible football can be.
Celebrations and goodbyes
The day ended with every attendee receiving a certificate and picture with Liverpool player Harvey Elliott.
All of us at TeamKinetic would like to thank everyone at the LFC Foundation for their hospitality. All staff and volunteers made us feel welcomed instantly – I would recommend volunteering with them to anyone who’s interested! To find LFC Foundation volunteering opportunities near you, click here.
We are honoured that a great organisation such as the LFC Foundation has found our software so useful for their volunteer management. To find out how our system can help you or your organisation, visit our website to book a free demo or call us on 0161 914 5757.
It’s been over two months since the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 captured the nation’s attention with some thrilling games; the tournament didn’t fall short of goals with 146 in total, and England’s semi-final v USA had us on the edge of our seats.
In the early 20th century, women’s football was very popular and grew in popularity as men went to war. The famous Dick Kerr Ladies played St Helen’s Ladies on Boxing Day in 1920, attracting over 53,000 spectators to Everton’s Goodison Park with thousands of fans watching from outside. Higher attendance figures than most football clubs today!
However, in 1921 the FA decided it would implement a ban on female participation in the sport. Football was considered to be unsuitable for women and they believed it should not be encouraged. Luckily, views began to change in the 1960s, with the Women’s Football Association (WFA) being formed in 1969. The ban on women’s football was officially rescinded in 1971 by the FA after persuasion from the WFA. We have to wonder what would have happened if women’s football was never banned… Would it be more popular than the men’s game today? Would we see more equality – or even total equality – in the sport?
England wasn’t the only country to ban the sport either, with bans in Norway (1931), France (1932), Brazil (1941), and West Germany (1955). In contrast, in 1972 the USA added legislation (named Title IX) that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that received federal funding. In other words, when it came to football (or soccer) in school, men and women were awarded equal rights. This is probably why the USA are such powerhouses of women’s football today! However, they still can’t get equal pay from the US Soccer Federation.
On the rise again…
Since the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, football has seen steady growth amongst women across the world. With an average of 150,000 female players competing in the affiliated league and cup competitions in England alone. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement and growth.
Referee Stephanie Frappart also took charge of the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, making her the first woman to take charge of a major men’s UEFA cup final.
The game has come on a long way in many ways, in terms of the Womens’ World Cup which we all watched this summer and showed how much respect the women’s game is getting. We’re trying to make strides and there’s a long way to go but [the cup final] will be a huge moment because it’s one more step in the right direction.
Stephanie Frappart
Furthermore, the FA Women’s Championship started last weekend and the FA WSL returns this weekend with a massive game. Manchester City and newly-promoted Manchester United will battle it out for their first three points of the season at the Etihad Stadium. Tickets for all WSL and Championship games can be found here.
So how do we get more young females involved in football?
Maybe we should start by giving them the opportunity that was once taken away from them? Or maybe we could just make all women’s football more accessible to watch.
Well, The FA may have done just that! They recently announced that all 132 WSL games and select Championship games would be streamed live via their app. This is a massive step which will hopefully increase the viewership of women’s football. However, some don’t agree with the move, stating that it will lower stadium attendances.
Female involvement doesn’t have to stop at the participation level. Roles in football go beyond playing; coaches, referees, administrators, pundits, volunteers all contribute to the success of the sport too.
Organisations we work with that are making a difference:
We work with a number of organisations that sit at the forefront of football and are making a real impact when it comes to female participation. Some of these organisations include the Liverpool FC Foundation and the Manchester Football Association.
TeamKinetic caught up with Katherine Jones from the Manchester FA to talk about some of the work they do around the city to impact women’s football.
This is what she had to say…
What is being done at your organisation to ensure women’s football continues to grow, and what things could be done to improve this?
Katherine gave me a long list of great things the Manchester FA is doing to ensure the growth of the women’s game! The full list is as follows:
Work with leagues to ensure that suitable playing pathways exist, promoting the transition from youth to adult football.
Work with clubs to support them to develop a full pathway (U7-Open age) for female players to access football.
Run celebration events to enhance and celebrate the female game.
Raise the profile of the game through focussed promotion (Women’s World Cup, Women’s Euros, Olympic games).
Support clubs and organisations to run the FA Wildcats programme as the main engagement programme for 5-11-year-old girls.
Work with the local school sports organisers to facilitate and support girls football programmes across Oldham, Tameside, Trafford, Manchester and Salford.
Deliver a monthly further education football and futsal offer.
Drive and develop a monthly futsal offer for girls in the U8-U16 age group.
Deliver a recreational female football opportunity on a weekly basis.
Create a full pathway from casual entry-level participation, to our highest placed amateur teams within the regional league structure.
Support players performing well within grassroots football to access the Regional Talent Club pathway (Manchester City & Manchester United Girls RTC’s).
Support female referees and coaches along with officials working within the female game.
Have you seen higher success rates in any particular approaches so far?
“We’ve seen a lot of success across the board, to be honest, Wildcats is our flagship entry-level programme to engage new girls within football, and this has seen lots of success in bolstering mini soccer (5-11) participation. The programme has been rolled out across clubs and providers and we have 33 centres currently running across Manchester, which provides an opportunity for girls to access football, within a short travelling distance regardless of where they live within Manchester.”
Have you experienced any pushback from clubs/leagues around Manchester?
“We haven’t seen any pushback really, because the vast majority of people now understand the emphasis and importance of facilitating football opportunities for female players, and people are much more engaged with female football at the top level, so they appreciate the technical ability level that female players can reach.”
Why is it important to get more women involved in football/football volunteering?
“The importance of these opportunities and the role models involved in the game is significant to inspire the next generation of female football, and to ensure that the game continually grows as the first choice sport for women in England.”
I would like to thank Katherine for her time, answering my questions gave great insight into all the amazing work the Manchester FA do!
The importance of female volunteers in women’s football
Britain’s first female Muslim football referee
Football is the most popular sport in the world! Played by millions of people each day, but it simply wouldn’t be possible without volunteers.
There isn’t a football game or competition that doesn’t involve at least one volunteer. It goes without saying, volunteers are an integral part of sports success. This plays an even bigger role in women’s football!
The increase of female participation in football calls for more volunteers to ensure the game continues to expand and grow. By having more regular female volunteers, young girls getting involved in football/football-related activities can receive the support they deserve.
How volunteers can help football
There are a number of roles and activities volunteers can get involved in to help:
Volunteer with your local club
Most local clubs are always in need of volunteers to help out with a variety of roles on offer; from running social media accounts to being a fixture secretary.
Become a first aider
Every week teams play and every week someone gets injured, so there is always a desire for first aiders. St John Ambulance and British Red Cross run first aid training courses.
Become a coach
What better way to inspire the next generation of talented female footballers than to be the one coaching them? There are a number of ways of getting started and its a great way to challenge yourself.
For more information on how TeamKinetic can assist with your volunteer management and getting the best out of all your volunteers visit our website, or contact us on – 0161 914 5757
Those who stand to benefit the most from volunteering are less likely to be involved.
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the NCVO
We previously looked into the demographics of volunteers and why women volunteer more than men. However, there are many factors affecting the ratio of volunteers to non-volunteers. This blog will look into the impact of socioeconomic status and ethnicity on an individual’s likelihood to volunteer. Addressing the question: Is Volunteering Too White and Wealthy?
I want to start this blog by saying I am white. Therefore, I can’t speak for the experiences of BAME volunteers but I can help draw attention to them. It has been said that standing by and letting discrimination happen is as bad as actively discriminating against people yourself.
The Facts and Figures
Socio-economic Analysis
How often people volunteer, based on the deprivation level of the area in which they live.
The graph above shows us that people in deprived areas are volunteering, just not as much as those from the least deprived areas. Interestingly, the level of informal volunteering is much more similar across the levels of deprivation. Perhaps this suggests that those from lower socio-economic backgrounds do volunteer, they just prefer to give help directly, not through mediation by formal organisations. As a result, maybe we need to reach out to these types of people more and show them how useful online volunteer hubs can be to find new and exciting opportunities.
NCVO’s Time Well Spent report highlights that people from higher socio-economic groups were more likely to be recent volunteers than those from lower socio-economic groups (44% vs. 30%). 40% of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds say they have never volunteered in their lives. The instant thought here is that the people from working-class backgrounds must spend their time working to earn money and find they have no time to volunteer. Right?
Well think again; it’s actually people who are unemployed that have the lowest volunteering rates. 42% of people not working note they have never volunteered in their lives. The highest volunteering rates are found in those who have part-time jobs. 53% of those who worked less than 8 hours per week had recently volunteered, and 41% of part-timers who work 8 – 29 hours per week had volunteered recently at the time of the report.
A person’s socio-economic status also appears to affect what type of voluntary work they do. Those who would identify as working-class are less likely to be in leadership/organisational roles than those of higher or middle class. 23% vs. 15% for leadership roles. 42% vs. 33% for organisational roles.
Furthermore, the level of education a person possesses also appears to impact volunteering rates. The higher the education, the more likely a person is to volunteer.
Not Enough Ethnic Diversity
The proportion of recent, frequent, and non-volunteers by ethnicity.
NCVO’s report appears to show that participation isn’t too affected by ethnicity. However, looking at the sample size, we can see that only 464 were from BAME backgrounds while 9,606 were white. As a result, it is heavily suggested that the likelihood of volunteering is affected by an individual’s race.
Unfortunately, BAME volunteers were more likely to report negative volunteering experiences, including feeling unappreciated and excluded. For example, they were less likely to feel they belonged in the organisation they volunteered for than white volunteers (77% vs 85%). Shockingly, research by CharityJob showed that 54% of BAME voluntary workers reported discrimination based on their ethnicity.
I’m Asian and Muslim. I have come across people while working who have shown outright dislike of me from the onset and other more subtle forms of discrimination.
Furthermore, people from BAME backgrounds were less likely to say they planned to volunteer in future (73% vs 81%).
How Can Volunteer Managers Fix This?
So is volunteering too white and wealthy? Well, it’s clear that something is creating this lack of diversity in volunteering numbers. But what can volunteer managers do about it? Perhaps the most fundamental thing would be to check that you offer a wide range of opportunities, suitable for a variety of people.
Let’s look at important factors to consider:
Location – maybe there are people out there who would like to volunteer but don’t have any opportunities near enough to them and can’t afford to travel. Some sites even give people the opportunity to volunteer from home.
Skills Needed/Accessibility – making opportunities that are accessible and require no specific skills are likely to attract a wider and more diverse range of volunteers.
Flexibility – many people may not have the time to commit to regular opportunities. If you can communicate with potential volunteers and arrange a time and date that suits them, you may be more likely to increase the diversity of your volunteers.
It has also been suggested that the demographic gaps would close if more employers let staff take time off to do voluntary work, or organised company-wide volunteering schemes.
This Doesn’t Just Affect The Volunteers
It’s important to note that the lack of diversity isn’t just within the actual volunteers themselves, but also with the volunteer managers and organisation higher-ups.
Here are some quotes from BAME candidates going for volunteer management roles:
I have never seen a black female in senior management in a charity and I have been working in the sector for over ten years. As a result I feel unconscious bias which reduces my promotion opportunities.
Race discrimination may be subjective. However, it’s very real. In my personal experience, I believe that on several occasions I have been passed over for promotion to people with less experience, knowledge and competence for white colleagues.
Visible diversity within organisations matters to candidates:
Overall, we can assume that by listening to your volunteers talk about their volunteering experiences, changes can be made. This could make your volunteering roles more attractive to a wider number of people, and increase diversity.
Britain’s volunteer community is clearly tilted towards people who are white and middle-class, it’s about time that changed to become more inclusive.
How Can TeamKinetic Help?
TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you analyse the demographics of your volunteers, including their ethnicity. This can give you great insight into who your volunteering opportunities are attracting – or not attracting. Our software ensures volunteers and providers both give feedback about every opportunity completed. Therefore, any problems faced (such as discrimination) can be dealt with swiftly.
