Student Volunteering Week takes place from 12 – 18 February and here at Northumbria Sport we want to recognise and thank all our current volunteers.
This year, there are currently 364 engaged volunteers at Northumbria Sport who all play an imperative part of the Sport programme. Students consistently contribute weekly hours to our many sporting programmes and collectively they have volunteered a staggering 6,036 hours so far, this academic year ensuring that student sport at Northumbria continues to be enjoyable, enriching, and inclusive to all our students. What’s more, Sport volunteers gain valuable experiential learning and practical experience in relevant sporting fields and are provided with training and qualifications to improve their employability and boost their CV.
Student Volunteering Week is designed to celebrate the benefits students can gain from volunteering. This includes helping improve wellbeing and developing employability skills while having a positive impact. But don’t just take our word for it. We spoke to our volunteers to share their experiences and outline why they would recommend getting involved in Northumbria Sport’s volunteering and internship programme.
Already a member of the 11-a-side Intramural football league, Tom Platt decided to apply for the role of Sport Development Intern. When asked about his experience of the role, Tom describes how: “The internship gave me a great opportunity to get further involved and meet new people, as well as earning a bit of money which is always a bonus.”
He added: “I’ve gained organisational skills and also interacting with people at the university from different backgrounds has helped me massively.”
James Matthews, has been a photography intern since 2019, he describes the position as: “one of the best experiences I’ve had at university.” Through the role, he describes how he has: “developed new techniques and created professional relationships with those involved with sport at Northumbria.”
James concludes: “I would recommend anyone who is interested in the internships at Northumbria Sport to reach out and see if it is something that aligns with your interests.”
Lastly, Andy Barton, Sport Development Manager describes how: "Northumbria Sport's vision is to inspire sport and physical activity engagement by providing a wide range of inclusive opportunities which improve wellbeing and enable students to fulfil their potential.”
He goes on to highlight how: “We want to take Student Volunteering Week to spotlight the invaluable contributions of our student volunteer workforce, thank them for their hard work and continue to promote the offers of support, both financial and through free training and qualifications, that are open to them.”
Here at Northumbria Sport, we offer around 50 paid internship roles across a range of disciplines, from sports development, coaching, strength and conditioning, performance analysis, media and marketing, nutrition, physiotherapy and more. These interns fulfil several hours of work per week around their studies and are integral to many of the programmes that NU Sport run, such as Intramural Leagues, Just PLAY and our club sport programme. We will be recruiting for 2024/25 in April so keep an eye out for updates on Volunteer Kinetic. https://volunteernorthumbriasport.co.uk/volunteers/search
Students who are currently, or looking to start, volunteering at Northumbria Sport and would like to discuss the opportunity further are encouraged to contact Andy Barton, via andy.barton@northumbria.ac.uk.
We would like to echo Andy and thank every student involved for the hard work they consistently put in and encourage those wishing to get involved to do so. We look forward to welcoming you to the team!
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