2024 marks the 40th year of Volunteers’ Week, when England Netball will join thousands of charities and organisations recognising the contribution volunteers make across the UK.
In 2019, we launched our volunteering strategy: “Building a movement, empowering volunteers to enrich lives through netball”.
Fast forward to 2024 and an estimated 30,000+ people volunteer across a variety of different disciplines at every level of the game.
United by their love for the sport, netball simply wouldn’t happen without the time, talent and expertise of volunteers.
Whether responsible for opening up the netball court gates at 8am on a Saturday, sitting on a county league committee, selling programmes at an international event or acting as a primary carer, their support, in all its forms, is invaluable.
This week, take the time to say a special ‘thank you’ – you could even create a bespoke personalised graphic.
Marking the start of Volunteers’ Week, the first of the nine regional ONE Awards for 2024 has taken place in Yorkshire and the South winners have also been announced. The regional winners will then be invited to the National ONE Awards celebration taking place in autumn. Catch a glimpse of last year’s star-studded event here.
As well as a crucial opportunity to thank volunteers and recognise the value of their time, passion and skills, Volunteers’ Week also acts as a chance to inspire others to give volunteering a go.
Whether you know what you want to do or are keen to find out more, learning a bit about you will help us signpost you to opportunities we hope that you will love – express your interest here.
From one-off opportunities to more regular commitments, area specific experts to session facilitators, there are a variety of ways to volunteer. Need some inspiration? You can hear from members of the Netball Family on why they love being involved and how they volunteer in different ways.
Volunteers’ Week festivities will culminate with ‘The Big Help Out’ (7-9 June) – the UK’s biggest-ever mass volunteering event – which offers taster opportunities for people to experience volunteering whatever they are interested in from helping at sports clubs to participating in litter picks.
In 2023, more than 7 million people took part in the Big Help Out during the King’s Coronation weekend, lending a hand and making a difference in their local communities.
Do you have a spare five minutes? We’ve added some simple NETBALLHer actions to the app to keep driving awareness of our industry-leading initiative and to continue normalising conversations on topics about the female body.
For any clubs, leagues, regions and counties, the app can also support in recruiting volunteers for the summer season and beyond.
A huge thank you to all the amazing people who volunteer and make our sport happen, through varying roles like officiating, coaching, administration, supporting school netball activity, clubs and local leagues, or helping drive inclusion and reaching new audiences in netball.
We want to champion and celebrate your stories, and the stories of the volunteers who enrich lives on and beyond the court, all year round so shine a spotlight on a brilliant volunteer or group of volunteers via The Huddle like Millie’s story.
