Our Big Hearts’ Blog launching to kick-start Volunteers Week!
Welcome to Big Hearts’ Blog!
Every month, our blog will give you a unique opportunity to know more about Big Hearts’ work, with insights from our staff, volunteers and partner charities! We are delighted to be launching our new blog during this Volunteers Week 2017, starting naturally with an article from our Volunteer Development Officer!
FOOTBALL CAN ADD VALUE TO THE THIRD SECTOR, WITHOUT KICKING A BALL!
Big Hearts’ Volunteer Development Officer, Innes Shirreff, on developing a successful volunteer programme for football fans, the importance of partnership working and what the future holds for Big Hearts Supporters.
– Developing the model –
“Big Hearts Community Trust? Is that something to do with football?” politely asked one lady at our Edinburgh Volunteer Recruitment Fair stall in September last year.
“Well actually, what we do isn’t really anything to do with football,” I replied, as I saw her interest waiver. “We just use the hook of football to get people involved in community projects.”
She wasn’t hooked, and wondered off to pet the dogs at the Guide Dogs stall as I watched on with jealousy.
But to many, football is the ultimate draw. ‘Big Hearts Supporters’ was created to encourage fans of the club to become volunteers, either directly on Big Hearts projects or with a range of partners. We ask fans to give their time and skills, not their money. We want to build a community of support around Big Hearts. We want to add value to the third sector.
– Partnership working –
“So Innes, in your opinion what will be the biggest challenge in this role?” asked Big Hearts General Manager, Caryn Kerr, in my job interview last June.
Classic interview question.
“The numbers involved are huge!” I said, trying not to come across as daunted. “Our biggest strength is also a weakness. We’ve got 900 people on our database interested in volunteering, but there is no way we can accommodate that ourselves.”
We’re not reinventing the wheel. As many third sector organisations will tell you, partnership working is key. In order to accommodate as many volunteers as we can, we’ve partnered with a number of Edinburgh based charities who offer different types of volunteering. This has allowed us to expand the opportunities we promote, as well as the range of roles. From DIY, to painting & decorating, to charity shops, to children and young people, to befriending and companionship, we promote and help to fill a selection of roles.
These partnerships have helped us position ourselves as very much a third sector organisation, a charity attached to football, but separate from football.
– Future opportunities –
With the help of Volunteer Scotland, Volunteer Edinburgh and Investing in Volunteers we’ve built solid foundations. We have a model that works and we want to let the project grow.
135 individuals have volunteered through Big Hearts in 12 months, but there are hundreds more interested and my job is to convert them into volunteers.
This involves continuing to promote a variety of roles, but also promoting the benefits of volunteering to those who want to volunteer and sharing success stories with our supporters. We also want to develop more Big Hearts projects, where fans have the opportunity to volunteer in and around Tynecastle and Gorgie.
Big Hearts Supporters is a movement of football fans who are adding value to the third sector by volunteering and our recent shortlisting in the ‘Cracking Campaign’ category at the Scottish Charity Awards on June 22nd reinforces our idea that this can be a successful model for other organisations to adopt!
To become a ‘Big Hearts Supporter’, sign up online and join 1,500 other fans supporting Big Hearts Community Trust.
Post written by Innes Shirreff, Big Hearts’ Volunteer Development Officer, June 2017.