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!
The Rugby World Cup is quickly approaching us, and I’m sure fans can’t wait for the contest to begin. The enjoyment of supporting your country before they go into battle against the opposition. I’m sure laughs, tears, and questionable language will be fuelled by countless pints down at many of your local pubs.
Small history lesson
The upcoming World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the very toughest of international teams. The first-ever Rugby World Cup was contested in 1987, it was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand with sixteen nations taking part. New Zealand became the first champions defeating France 29-9.
The warriors who succeed in their battles are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup at the end of the tournament. Legend has it that Webb Ellis was the inventor of rugby. Stumbling across the game by deciding to pick up the ball during a football match. Webb Ellis probably didn’t comprehend at the time of picking up the ball, that rugby would go onto generate revenue of approximately 228million pounds. This being the figure derived from the last Rugby World Cup hosted by England in 2015.
Rugby World Cup volunteers
The Japan 2019 organising committee has launched ‘Team No Side’ the official volunteers for the Rugby World Cup. Which is made up of over 10,000 volunteers across the twelve host cities of Japan. Around 38,000 volunteers applied for the position, these volunteers aim to connect and interact with fans to create a memorable experience. The recruitment process began in 2018 with successful applicants being given complete training in preparation for the big event.
The training for Team No Side started in February and March earlier this year. Their first training session covered learning about the history of the World Cup. I’m sure volunteering in the Rugby World cup will be a memorable experience. However, the volunteers involved are not allocated pre-paid travel cards to travel between each venue, neither will they receive any discount from accommodation providers. Which is hard to digest, as this is a globally televised event.
The Rugby World Cup previously hosted by England had more than 20,000 application forms submitted, with only 6,000 of the keenest people being granted success. The successful applicants joined the group named ‘Join The Pack,’ 4,000 of the volunteers were from Rugby clubs and the remaining 2,000 were from outside of clubs. Committee leader Debbie Jevans felt this was just the right balance of passionate rugby enthusiasts.
Rugby clubs near you
Many volunteers that are a part of their local clubs volunteer because they want to give something back. The volunteers may be ex-players themselves or have younger children who are passionate about the sport. Most clubs across the UK are very busy, grass pitches are the UK’s most popular space of physical exercise so it’s not surprising there is a demand for volunteers.
Throughout an average week, rugby clubs can receive a wide spectrum of players wanting to take part in various training sessions, juniors, men’s, women’s and touch. As you could imagine that’s a lot of muddy people to manage at one time. That’s during the weekdays alone, without considering match days on weekends, which could include tournaments and away games. Without volunteers, these opportunities for people to stay active and enjoy the sport would just not be possible. Rain or shine local coaches are there on the sideline giving constructive guidance or perhaps just hailing light-hearted abuse in your direction. But it’s all good fun!
If you think rugby is something you would like to be apart of then you should consider contacting your local clubs secretary. They will then be able to inform you what volunteering opportunities they have available, and the training you may need in order to start volunteering.
My dad was a volunteer coach. Without that type of involvement things just don’t happen and aren’t quite as good as they could be without volunteers. This is especially true in light of the Rugby World Cup.
Jonny Wilkinson
A volunteering inspiration
Jeremy Wares, 36 was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Following his diagnosis, Jeremy was understandably shaken by the news. He had always wanted to coach his son in rugby but he wasn’t sure of the near future of his health at the time of his diagnoses.
In the previous 15years, Jeremy had made a living for himself being a chef in Paris. Catering in very well established restaurants which were fit for President Mitterrand. Jeremy had then gone on to establish his own restaurants in Scotland, 63 Tay Street and The Anglers Inn.
Despite the news, Jeremy was able to use his previous skillset of being a Caterer to organise events for Perthshire Rugby Club. These events have included the Perthshire Beer Festival which attracts around 20,000 people each year. Jeremy remains very hands-on with these events cooking a lot of the food himself. Alongside busy event planning, Jeremy has also been able to coach his son in the rugby team, which he was doubtful about at the start.
Inlight of his illness Jeremy felt he had to give something back and he’s done a fantastic job. Jeremy says “the secret is to remain active and keep going” only when he stops for too long does his condition seem to become more visible. Jeremy’s efforts were rewarded as Scottish volunteer of the season.
Grow your organisation with TeamKinetic
Grow your volunteering community with TeamKinetic volunteer management
TeamKinetic invites all organisations who feel they would be able to benefit from our software to get in touch. Remember we don’t limit the number of volunteers or the number of opportunities you can have available. We want your organisation and the communities you work with to grow and prosper.
As a purveyor of volunteer management software, you would not be surprised to hear me evangelise about the importance of technology in volunteer management and the potential opportunities for efficiency, scale and reduced operating costs. In this article, I want to explore what technologies we think are important now and will be important in the future, but more importantly than the technology itself. I want to look at how the technology works with the human experience to build stronger more coherent communities.
I don’t need to tell the readers of this blog, that volunteers and volunteer management do not easily fit into any single box. Unlike employees, the relationship between volunteers and the organisations they give their time to is unique and comes with its own set of unique risks and considerations. So what technologies can you leverage to make your volunteer management more effective?
HR Software
Let’s start with the dry and boring, but essential and important stuff. Did you know that only 5% of charities currently have and use HR software? That means 95% of charities are not safeguarding their volunteers. That is a massive number who may be leaving themselves exposed to GDPR and data-breach fines.
Organisations, big and small, must ensure they fulfil their duty of care to their volunteers. They need to keep them safe and ensure they are appropriately trained and inducted. They also need to make sure only people with the appropriate skills and training are allowed to access certain higher-risk roles. Some voluntary opportunities carry significant risks for the volunteer, the service users and the organisation itself, and these risks need to be mitigated.
To ensure an organisation is compliant with employment law, health and safety law and GDPR, HR software provides a methodology to track and report on an ever-changing workforce. From general trends on the demographics of your volunteers, how many men, women etc, to which of my volunteer’s criminal records check is coming up for renewal.
Having all your volunteer records available, searchable and customisable means you can quickly identify training needs, skills gaps and individuals who may pose a potential risk to the organisation or have the ability to do more for the organisation.
Volunteers are not employees! So the data you hold on them is different to that you might have on your paid staff. Under GDPR you must have a valid reason for holding data that might be considered personal or sensitive. Volunteers can be deployed across various business areas and as such certain information will be required to be shared with managers, employees and partners about that volunteer so that they can be deployed safely and appropriately.
Your HR software needs to be flexible enough to deal with the unique nature of volunteers whilst being robust enough to protect the individuals and the organisation.
The question we ask organisations to consider: is your HR system the right place for your volunteer’s data? If not what are your options?
Brokerage
Great! you have a list of potential volunteers, you know a little about them; their demographic information, maybe a little history on their experiences. What do you do next?
Getting the right people into the right roles is the difference between a successful volunteer programme and a failed volunteer programme. How effective your brokerage is, determines how well volunteers are matched. We think the key elements of effective digital brokerage are:
High-quality information so volunteers and organisations can make informed judgements on what suits them and what they want to do.
Effective search and filter tools, that enable users to quickly find what is important to them presented in a way that lets them scan large volumes of information quickly. Time, location, keyword, accessibility are all the types of key data points users want to be able to refine their search criteria by.
Opportunity brokerage that gives the volunteer ownership of their experience but that also allows organisations to check and limit opportunities based on experience, skills, qualifications and available references.
Matching people to opportunities means you need to have what people are looking for. This involves doing two things, having enough opportunities that your volunteers have lots of choices and having real insight into what your volunteers are searching for.
Having enough opportunities to create real choice is a challenge, especially when you first get going, so a system that can pull opportunity data from other sources would be useful.
Being able to share your opportunities across other national brokerage sites via API‘s
Understanding your volunteers and what they are looking for, means you can inform your opportunity providers on what they should be offering, and what keywords they should be used to describe their offer so people can find them.
Do you need brokerage..? Is your brokerage resource-intensive and require your staff to spend too much time data inputting?
I appreciate volunteers are not customers! And they are not Employees! But they do occupy a space in between these two entities. They do have a choice over how they spend their time, they need to be looked after like you would regular customers. So how do you do this?
An effective CRM provides a set of tools that allows you to communicate and measure the effectiveness of those communications with your customers.
Being able to create lists of volunteers based on experience, demographic information or skill and qualification means you can target emails, newsletters or SMS text messages. Tracking the impact of these communications in regards to the performance of your opportunities enables you to understand which of your communications are most effective and perhaps why.
A CRM will provide you with a method for tracking interactions, identifying volunteers who are suited to certain opportunities and will make it easy to use the digital communication tools to reach out to these people.
36% of potential volunteers experienced barriers to volunteering due to potential communication issues, e.g. a lack of response to their application, or lack of clarity and understanding about the role. Could your customer relationship management be limiting the number of volunteers your organisation receives?
Should your volunteers be in your customer relationship software, or is there somewhere else they might be better placed..?
Social
Whatever your view on social media, you can’t ignore it if you are looking to engage an audience.
Social media provides a range of potential benefits for organisations and provides a powerful method of growing your audience via volunteer’s social groups and followers. Sharing opportunities and experiences that you are passionate about with your social media audience will improve your opportunity engagement.
Looking at how you integrate social features into your volunteer’s experience will enhance retention and make your programme more sustainable, help build a feeling of community and allow you to share incentives and future opportunities. Can you use technology that allows you to create groups and communities?
Existing applications such as Facebook, What’s App, Twitter and Linked In all provide tools, but you must also consider that these services have some hidden costs in their use. How exposed are your uses to their data being used by these large organisations, do you as an organisation have the control you need over these external applications to protect your users and your organisation’s reputation, do you want to share all your user’s data with these 3rd party social networks?
It’s important to know your volunteer demographics well enough to be able to target them effectively on social media. The top social media platform used differs by generation – Gen Z (19 and under) use YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat the most, while the older generations (20 – 70+) spend most of their time on Facebook. (Mintel 2019)
You want to take advantage of the benefits of social media and the potential for your work to become a viral sensation without the inherent risks these platforms pose. You must invest time in developing your organisation’s online persona, growing an engaged audience on the platforms that you identify as appropriate for your volunteers and managing that profile to ensure you stay relevant. To do this requires considerable staff resource and knowledge of the platform to use it effectively.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could find a way to generate social content and link to your accounts.? Would it also be great if your volunteers and providers can share and engage socially as well.?
TeamKinetic
Our ambition at TeamKinetic was to develop a platform that allowed a volunteer manager to take advantage of all the above technology in one place. A platform that was specially designed for working with the unique considerations that arise with volunteers.
TeamKinetic is volunteer-centric – built to make the life of the volunteer as easy as possible. Built to allow volunteers to take ownership of their experiences, to take advantage of their social media and allow them to easily communicate with opportunity providers and other volunteers.
Designed for the entire volunteer life-cycle: from recruitment, through onboarding to deployment, and then with tools that would lead to better volunteer retention. TeamKinetic provides a framework of checks and balances to ensure the volunteers are safe, the wider service users are safe, and the organisation can meet its legal responsibilities and deliver high-quality, insight-driven experiences for its volunteers.
TeamKinetic is built on the principals of open data, with tools that allow the linking and sharing of certain data. This approach means organisations can use TeamKinetic in isolation or as a ‘best in category’ tool or they can link it to other software they use to create a more complete picture of their business. Simple to use features allow data and reporting exports as well as built-in data sharing functions. This allows quick and simple sharing with other brokers and applications.
For most organisations, having multiple applications, software and systems can be too complicated and expensive. TeamKinetic’s ambition is to provide all these services, and the ability to link to more as required, in a specialised volunteer management product. Our hope is that it is both cost-effective and feature-rich. This approach means you can have an ‘available any time’, web-based service that has a free mobile application, powerful data tools, customisable design features, and is built for the express job of managing volunteers. A service that is updated and improved every year at a cost that will not break the bank.
Finally, as a specialist in this sector, TeamKinetic has vast experience in how to use the available technology to get the very best from your volunteers. Our extensive support means volunteer managers can get good advice from both TeamKinetic and other volunteer managers who use the TeamKinetic system, sharing good practice and learning from each other. TeamKinetic’s value does not end with its software. Its true value is in shared best practice and the use of high-quality data that allows all our customers to look at ways in which they can improve their volunteers’ experiences.
If you want to see how TeamKinetic can help you, please feel free to get in touch here. We would love to give you the tour and show you how TeamKinetic could change your world. Just get in touch and we can arrange a 30-minute demo and 30-day free trial, so you can see for yourself how much more you might be able to do.
The LFC foundation has 315 volunteers and 22 volunteering opportunities. According to our system, volunteers at LFC have recorded more than 1,200 hours of volunteering. The LFC foundation aims to create life-changing opportunities for children and young people. Currently, LFC works with up to 3,000 children and young people a week improving their health, education and overall chances in life.
Recently I was lucky enough to volunteer as part of the Respect 4 All project at LFC. Originally this project began in 2009 and helps approximately 400 participants every year. LFC works with local and national organisations in developing sport and physical activity opportunities for young children with complex needs.
I have to say that this was a spectacular day! During my time at LFC, I was able to witness the work LFC Foundation does. I can tell you now that LFC truly makes a difference to every young person’s life. LFC provides a space and an opportunity for these children to learn, get active and most importantly have fun! I would like to commend all the volunteers who were there as well, giving their own free time up to help benefit and make a change to someone else’s life for one day. Luckily for me, I had the chance to speak to some of the volunteers and get there say on why they volunteer.
I previously volunteered for ‘Everton In The Community’ for 15 years maybe more (said under his breath quietly). I started at Everton because my grandad was an Everton fan and he first introduced me to the club. But it is my first time volunteering at Liverpool today and hopefully one of many. I like helping out where ever I can, volunteering makes me feel happy and useful it’s something I don’t plan on stopping, I love doing what I do. Alongside volunteering, I play for the LFC Foundation disability football team who I train with every Monday. As much as I love volunteering in football – I also love playing it too.
Paul aged 39 (LFC Volunteer and football player)
Milo and Micheal
I’ve been volunteering for the last year at LFC because of my educational pathways. At college, I am currently studying in sports and my future career goals are to be a football coach. So to pursue my career goals I have been helping out at LFC Foundation to gain some experience. But as well as seeking a job in coaching, I enjoy meeting new people and most of all it can be a really good laugh. Also, I am quite an active person and I don’t like sitting around the house. LFC provides a chance for me to get out and do something physical. The secret for me is enjoying what I do, then it doesn’t seem like work.
Micheal Murray Aged 17 (Student)
Milo and Anas
Today is my first day volunteering at The LFC Foundation but I am enjoying it thoroughly. Previously I have volunteered at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. But I am volunteering here today because I am a Liverpool football fan who just wanted to help out in my local community. I feel it is something everyone should try to get involved with at least once in their lives. Originally I am from India but I am spending my time in Liverpool to pursue my master’s degree in cardiovascular health. During the time I have left before my degree is over I want to get involved in as many volunteering opportunities as possible.
I was able to find the Respect 4 All opportunity through using The LFC Foundations webpage. Which uses TeamKinetic volunteering management system. The system was very easy to manoeuvre around and made finding and signing up to opportunities easy, I had no issues at all.
Anas usman aged 28 (physiotherapist)
Be happy and love what you do
What was great about listening to the volunteers was that I could tell that each volunteer I spoke to was passionate and happy to be volunteering at LFC. All the volunteers that I spoke to were happy and smiling, be it there first time or one of many. This reflects so positively on LFC and also the volunteering community.
Volunteering attracts a wide spectrum of people who volunteer for many different reasons. Education, helping the community, the love of helping others or being associated with local clubs. Each volunteer has a purpose of why they want to volunteer and what they want to get out of it.
The question is: What’s your purpose and what do you want to achieve from volunteering? Only you can know that.
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 is with some sadness that TeamKinetic and Do-it.org will no longer be working together. Users who take advantage of the link between the two applications will no longer be able to share opportunities to Do-it after Friday 27th September.
For those who do use this feature, you may have noticed over the last few months it had become a little unstable and prone to misbehaving. Do-it has decided that they no longer wanted to support this feature and it will be removed on Friday the 27th September. It would be safe to assume all existing opportunities will be removed though we strongly suggest you check if this could affect you after the 27th.
Do-it.org did not provide detail as to why they no longer wanted to support the TeamKinetic link, but we know they continue to review their platform and develop their technology and sometimes these types of features are no longer a priority for an organisation to support. We thank Do-it for their support over the last 3 years and wish them all the very best, moving forward.
All our customers will still be able to link their opportunities to our own free national platform at TryVolunteering.com, which will continue to give you extra reach and exposure. We recommend always sharing with TryVolunteering if you can.
TeamKinetic customers in Wales and Scotland can also continue to link with Volunteering-wales.net and VolunteerScotland.
TeamKinetic continues to look at how we can use our data to benefit the volunteer sector and stand by our ‘open data’ principals. We will continue to explore opportunities to work with partners to grow volunteer participation and we hope those customers who used this feature are able to work with us as we look at new partners for them to share their opportunities with.
If you have any questions as to how this might impact you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email, twitter, facebook or give us a call here in the office.
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
This blog has been inspired by Rob Preston, a senior reporter at Charity Finance Magazine and the author of a recent article highlighting that fewer people are volunteering.
The article (Fewer people volunteering, says DCMS survey), highlights that only 36 per cent of people volunteered at least once in the year to March 2019. The lowest level recorded by the survey, which was run by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. However, here at TeamKinetic we are committed to knocking down those barriers!
Childcare issues
Milo and his son intensely playing with Lego!
I know from being a parent myself looking after your child can be, to say the least, a tiring task. However, it is highly enjoyable, especially if you love playing with Lego as much as they do!
Childcare constraints do not need to stop you from volunteering, many volunteering opportunities can be done with your children.
MCRVIP has many child-friendly opportunities around the city like the cleaner city opportunity and the park maintenance opportunity, these are just two examples of where you and your children could volunteer and bond together. Not only is this something to do instead of being housebound but, it teaches the children the importance of volunteering and giving back to your community.
Having an illness or disability
Never let a disability hold you back, is the advice from Nicola Taylor, who didn’t let her disability get in the way of what she wanted to achieve in volunteering.
“I have cerebral palsy and am a wheelchair user. I felt very isolated as I had no social outlet. Previously I was invited to a presentation evening with Volunteering Matters and started talking to Mandy, from the SAFE project. About doing some volunteering for the project with her as I wanted to do something for myself and help others.
I have a particular interest in working with those with autism spectrum disorder as I have a nephew who is on the spectrum. When Mandy told me she would be starting a group with girls from the integrated autism service, I was very keen but felt there might be a financial impact as I would have to get an accessible taxi from my home. However, Mandy assured me that Volunteering Matters would cover the travel expenses – and that the venue would have disability access.
I am now co-facilitating the group and love it! I am helping others receive important messages and love seeing them gaining confidence week by week. Volunteering has helped me a lot; I feel pretty good about myself and I have also learned a lot from the workshops. I am keen to learn more and help out at further workshops in the future.”
Nicola Taylor
I hope Nicola’s story can inspire people to give volunteering a go. Volunteering has made a life-changing impact on Nicola’s life and It might just be able to do the same to yours.
Study commitments
Being a student myself I know the workload can be high, especially around deadline dates. So I understand finding spare time can be difficult. However, I recently got to chat with the successful student and volunteer El Afzal. El has been volunteering for quite some time now, some would say she’s a bit of a volunteering athlete!
How did you get into volunteering whilst at university?
“Through my tutors on my course (Event Management), and also through the MMU Sports TeamKinetic portal. I had very little experience in Events and really wanted to give myself the best start to my university time and career. My tutor guided me to a matchday volunteering with Manchester Futsal, running the reception and ticketing on matchdays. And I found my own volunteering through TeamKinetic where I volunteered at BUTL (British University Taekwondo League) UK Regional Taekwondo championships.”
How do you manage Studying and Volunteering at the same time?
“Despite most of it being linked to my degree and my career goals, I find the volunteering I’m doing to be my downtime. I have such a variety of volunteering under my belt that now I know what I’ll enjoy, and what will help me relax. So the first week of every month I go to Desert Island Discs with Manchester Cares in Ancoats, and have a brew with older neighbours and laugh and dance to some music. Or having post-match wings and drinks with Manchester Futsal team is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
I do make sure that with my studying I have at least one evening off working and revision to do something I enjoy and that makes me feel happy, it helps keep a balance and stop me from getting too bogged down.”
Do you feel volunteering whilst being at university has helped you, and if so why?
“Yes, definitely! Volunteering has opened a lot of doors for me. It’s led me onto new roles in organisations I already volunteered at which has led to further job offers.
Volunteering genuinely has helped me develop some vital skills and industry knowledge which I needed. Also, it’s a fantastic way of naturally networking with others; I’ve had fellow volunteers wanting to help and offer introductions and work experience/internships with people they know.”
What would you say to any student who is studying at university but is apprehensive about volunteering?
“I’d say to do some research and find a role you actually want. Don’t volunteer somewhere if it doesn’t interest you because you won’t get as much out of it. Try looking at something that could fit your current skill set, or is with a company/charity you actually want to work with. But volunteering is more rewarding the more you put in, so you have to go in and be willing to get out of your comfort zone. So research, apply, enjoy and get stuck in!”
Never considered it or not aware of groups that need help
Many people don’t really know how they can get involved in volunteering, it can be on your doorstep, or abroad. Many just have never given it a second thought. But I hope I can enlighten a few people to give volunteering a go, all you need is your laptop, mobile or tablet to get started on your first opportunity near you. Here are a handful of sites which could kick start your volunteering opportunities.
Your local city or town council is the perfect place to start. Your council website will additionally assist you in being able to volunteer locally. For first time volunteers, I would highly recommend trying your council’s website as your first call to action.
You may not have realised it yet but local accredited volunteer centres are everywhere. They’re an excellent way for first-time volunteers to get involved, by understanding your interests they can match you with suitable volunteering opportunities.
TryVolunteering.com ran by us here at TeamKinetic, encourages all people from all walks of life to get involved in volunteering. TryVolunteering.com also allows people to set up accounts as opportunity providers, providers can then advertise volunteering opportunities – but don’t worry its all FREE!
Don’t just do it for yourself, do it for someone else. That’s the true motivation behind volunteering. Do-it.org connecting volunteers to volunteering opportunities from all around the country.
Charity Job is the UK’s largest site for charity jobs and volunteering. Thousands of positions can be found up and down the UK, no matter your location there will be something near you.
A final note from TeamKinetic
Life can throw up many barriers, some of which are hard to get over and may challenge us along our paths. But it’s the journey of how we get over these barriers and what we can learn from climbing over them. The secret is passion. Martin Luther King said, “A man who has not found something he is willing to die for, is not fit to live.” Perhaps an extreme sentiment, however, the point is very clear. We all must find a passion in life which we care about more than ourselves; this will give you the motivation, and inspiration to do more in life. Your passion may be volunteering and helping to improve other peoples lives; whatever it maybe it doesn’t matter, as long as your passionate – then you can overcome anything.
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.
The top 3 countries volunteers travel to are; The Philippines, India and Thailand, with 1.6 million people volunteering abroad every year. 84% of millennials said they would travel abroad to participate in volunteering activities and 39.52% said they would volunteer for their own professional development. So if you are one of those 84% then read on for our tips for volunteering abroad.
1. Make sure you know how to get there
“Getting lost, a good way to find yourself, unless you’re actually lost. Then you’ve got a problem”
A wise man once said
As obvious as it may sound, it’s essential you know exactly where in the world you’re going to be travelling to. Most people use websites such as GVI and International Volunteer HQ when wanting to volunteer abroad. However, you must read the small print! Most volunteering opportunities do not include flights, and few have transfers organised to and from the airport. So always be sure of the best way to go about your journey. Plan ahead and always make contact with your provider in advance, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
Engage with the local communities in which you plan to volunteer in, don’t just treat it as a photo opportunity. This can be done by listening and understanding what the local communities want and need. Be aware of your own prejudices and bias and listen; the community knows better than you. As a volunteer, you should consider learning about the political, social, economic and cultural histories of the places you visit. Which in better terms, will help stop you putting your foot in it!
3. Develop relationships
Building relationships
When volunteering abroad you want to ensure you develop relationships with the local community and stakeholders. Finding a real interest in someone will gain their trust over the course of your volunteering experience, by letting them know that you’re there to help. By communicating and developing relationships it will allow you to get the ball rolling between yourself and the local community and lubricate the path to what can be a rough road to the end goal. Remember your in someone else’s house, although it may be different from what you’re used to, they will be proud of their home – so always be respectful.
4. Manage your time wisely
Amazing places
Time is of the essence, you will be home before you know it. Try to make an action plan of what you want to achieve in your time volunteering – there is nothing worse than leaving a job half-finished. Assert maximum effort in all you do, hard work never goes unnoticed; it could lead to further volunteering in the future. But plan for free time! Get out and see the country you’ve travelled to, enjoy the culture and fully indulge in the experience.
5. Get something out of it
Take it all in
Your volunteering experience should help develop your skills. These could be employability skills for a future career, or they could be personal skills which you want to develop. But being out of your comfort zone and learning to adapt is a broad skill which can be utilized in many areas of your life. We all have to adapt, volunteering abroad will definitely take you out of your comfort zone.
Maintain your connections once you have finished, take down all the contact details and social media accounts of all the people you have met throughout your experience, they could be the sofa stop you need on a future magical experience.
TeamKinetic respects all areas of volunteering, locally or internationally. At the heart of it all, volunteers sacrifice their free time to help someone else, making the world a better place. By uniting communities and people together, mankind can truly do great things – Some of us just need a chance to show we can.
