London 2012 volunteer legacy charity Join-In has announced that BT is to be its first commercial partner, paving the way for both to raise the profile of volunteering.
Join-In will stage thousands of events over the coming months at sports clubs and community groups throughout the UK to encourage more people to volunteer; including a series of summer events at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with London 2012 volunteers.
Research conducted by the charity found that 84 per cent of clubs need more volunteers to function with 87 per cent citing a lack of spare hands as hindering expansion of their membership.
Sir Charles Allen, chairman, Join In, said: “We want to re-capture the spirit of London 2012 and channel the enthusiasm of the London 2012 volunteers to support local sports clubs and community groups across the UK. In the same way BT boldly championed the Paralympic movement, we know with their support we can create a movement of engaged, dedicated volunteers.”
Sir Michael Rake, chairman, BT Group, added: “We have been actively promoting skills-based doing, not just charitable giving, at BT for a number of years and we know that it is both sustainable and replicable – and can transform communities. Through partnering with Join In, we look forward to issuing a new rallying cry to volunteers, as well as to businesses who might be considering replicating our BT Volunteer programme for their own employees.”