Volunteering

Want to Volunteer? 

At GM Moving, we work behind the scenes of volunteering, working strategically with partners to bring about change to how volunteering looks and feels for those involved. We don’t offer or advertise volunteer roles.

If you’d like to learn more about volunteer roles near you, get in touch with your local volunteer centre. There are centres in Bolton (Bolton cvs), Bury (Bury VCFA), Manchester (Macc), Oldham & Tameside & Rochdale (Action Together), Salford (Salford CVS), Stockport (Sector 3), Trafford (Thrive Trafford) and Wigan (Wigan Council). 

Volunteering Research  

In 2022, we asked researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University to work with us, 10GM, Bolton Council, and a VCSE Volunteering Advisory Group, to understand what is needed to make volunteering in physical activity, sport and movement easy, meaningful and supported. Developing a systemic approach to volunteering across GM by working with the VCSE sector. 

Volunteering is affected by a range of factors – from cost-of-living pressures to accessibility of venues to discrimination, attitudes and stereotypes. This means that to increase diversity and inclusion in volunteering and remove barriers, we need to build relationships and work differently across institutions, organisations and cultures.  This is called taking a systemic or whole system approach.  

The research highlighted common reasons why people don’t volunteer. For example, people without a sporting background were less likely to see themselves as physical activity, sport and movement volunteers. People also felt they needed sport-specific qualifications or knowledge, that volunteering needed to be a lifelong commitment, and that volunteering wasn’t flexible.  

Another barrier highlighted by the research was the lack of diversity amongst volunteers. Most volunteers are middle-aged, well educated, in managerial and professional jobs, religious, and have lived in the same neighbourhood 10+ years. For people who don’t fit in many or any of those categories, it can be hard to see volunteering as something for you. The lack of visible, diverse role models in volunteering can make this issue worse. 

From this research, we identified eight recommendations to help reduce these barriers and make volunteering in sport, physical activity, and movement something that everyone in Greater Manchester can do.  

Read the full volunteering research report. 

See the eight recommendations from the volunteering research report. 

Volunteering Community of Practice 

One of these eight recommendations was to create a Sports Volunteering Community of Practice. The Community of Practice is a space where people from different sectors, organisations and groups collaborate and share learning, around a common goal of making volunteering in sport, physical activity and more inclusive and accessible. People share what’s been successful for them and work through challenges with other members. As the group’s conveners, we also make sure members have the most recent data on trends in volunteering, sharing what research is saying about whether our approach is making the impact on volunteering that we’re hoping to see. 

Current members of the Community of Practice include:  

• National and local governing bodies of sports 

• Local VCSE Infrastructure Organisations 

• Local Authorities  

• VCSE organisations and groups, including sports clubs, and more.  

Getting more people involved in and enjoying volunteering in sport, physical activity and movement takes knowledge and experience from every part of the system, that’s why we’re always welcoming new members. If you’re keen to get involved in the community of practice or want to know more about this work, please get in touch with Emily Wilkins.