Volunteers' Week: Karla - volunteering in Bradford
Volunteers’ Week runs from 1-7 June. To mark the week, Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is celebrating volunteers’ positive impact on the programme. Karla Burton is the GOGA Lead at Bradford Disability Sport and Leisure (BDSL). BDSL would simply not be able to run as an organisation without volunteers. They have a fantastic army of volunteers who support them from administration, to assistant coaching through to driving the minibuses.
They have worked with around 23 volunteers through the GOGA programme so far. Volunteers are part of the family and really get behind the charity’s aims and objectives. The volunteers add that community-feel into the organisation.
Karla says:
“They can engage with the communities in a way that we can’t. Don't ever question the value of volunteers. Noah's Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by professionals!
The Community Champion volunteers and Assistant Activity Coaches play a big role in ensuring their programmes are inclusive and appeal to both disabled and non-disabled people. They are often out on the streets or having a coffee with the local community, encouraging them to engage in activity.
Within the BDSL programmes they are always on hand to support the participants in the activity. But most importantly getting to know them as people, asking them how their day was and making them laugh. With the support of these volunteers, everyone takes part in activity together at the same time.
Working alongside volunteers has really made me see what impact they have on our organisation and programmes. It makes me want to volunteer all my spare time. What’s great is most people don’t see it as volunteering but supporting something they are really passionate about.
Whether it’s supporting in the office and making new friends, brightening up my day or making a difference in the community, you can see the good-feel factor that comes from volunteering. Volunteers have really had an impact on the reach we have had in communities, some people won’t even turn up if they know the volunteer isn’t there!