Volunteering as an Olympic Sport

Since news of the Olympics has been bad in the U.S. press lately (sorry, Chicago!), I'm jumping in to offer a positive Olympics story to give sports fans something to smile about.

In London, which will host the Games in 2012, a new initiative aims to capitalize on the optimistic and fair-playing spirit of the event to motivate 100,000 people to volunteer for good causes between now and 2013, according to PhilanthropyUK. One of the project's goals is to get 70,000 people who have never volunteered before involved.

Volunteering England and YouthNet, the two organizations that launched the project this week, will use the strategy of signing up 1,500 organizations that work with volunteers as a means of rallying individuals to the cause.

Representatives of the two organizations stated that the energy of the Games is central to the mission of the project. Justin Davis Smith, CEO of Volunteering England, said, “The 2012 London Games present a fantastic opportunity for volunteering. We want to capture this energy and inspire future generations to volunteer.” And Fiona Dawe, CEO of YouthNet, agreed: “This project will play a vital role in ensuring new volunteers are able to channel their energy and enthusiasm into volunteering, benefitting our community in the run-up to the Olympics, Paralympics, and beyond.”

Photo courtesy of thomas pix, via Flickr