June 1, 2023, by Habbi Liton
Volunteers’ Week: BUCS Wednesday Volunteers
Now in its 39th year, Volunteers’ Week is an annual event which sees the incredible impact that volunteering has in communities around the UK. With the theme this year set as ‘Celebrate and Inspire’, we want to use this to show special recognition to our student leaders who have gone above and beyond in their volunteering roles this year. We kick off our celebration with a throwback to BUCS Big Wednesday!
Back in March, the University of Nottingham was honoured to host BUCS Big Wednesday once again. The event took place on Wednesday 22nd March across many facilities including David Ross Sports Village, Jubilee Sports Centre and Highfields, with 16 sports and 58 fixtures taking place. the #GreenandGold took part in 20 of these finals, winning a total of 11 finals!
As every year, the event was supported by our amazing volunteers from the university and we had over 100 students that volunteered to make both days memorable and make sure all athletes and fans had an exceptional experience. The help that these volunteers provide for our events is always massive, and they would not be possible without them. Because of this, we like to reward them and give them the spotlight they deserve! In this occasion there were 3 volunteers that really stood out for their work, engagement and friendliness with our visitors. Congratulations to Debora Mafoua, Nic Fisher and Jo Parkes! We reached out to them to find out more about their experience and this is what they had to say about BBW.
Debora Mafoua
Debora was allocated the role of ticketing at David Ross Sports Village. Being face to the public for long can be hard but Debora kept a smile all day and her friendliness really stood out to all of us around her.
What was your favourite part of the day?
“I didn’t have a favourite part of the day because I really enjoyed the whole day. I guess something that stood out to me was the atmosphere – it was energetic and uplifting. The staff was also very friendly and happy to help which made the day so easy.”
Are you part of a sports club or did you have previous volunteering experience?
“I was previously part of the Trampolining club so I am used to competition environment, but I had not done events volunteering per se. However, I have done ticketing before. I would recommend this opportunity to someone who has no experience as a great way to socialise and get to know new people!”
Nic Fisher
Nic had volunteered with us before and she had shown amazing initiative and help! She volunteered her time for both of the days, and because of her experience and involvement with the Leadership Academy she was assigned the role of Volunteer Lead for Highfields at the rugby fixtures.
Jo Parkes
Jo was down at Highfields as a Scoreboard Operator for rugby. Although the day can get a bit hectic, Jo showed initiative and was kind and helpful to all volunteers and members of staff.
Why did you decide to volunteer for BBW?
“I’m always very grateful for the opportunity to take part in my sports and am aware that a big part of keeping them as affordable and accessible for as many people as possible is the reliance on volunteers.”
How would you recommend this opportunity to someone that has no previous experience?
“I may be quite service oriented but I do think that if you are regularly taking part in activities that require volunteers, you should take your turn to volunteer too. There are loads of ways you can do it so if you don’t think you’ve got it in you to all bubbly and energetically encouraging of the participants to help them keep going, there are often essential behind-the-scenes jobs too. Many of these need little or no training as positive attitude and proactivity will take you a long way.”
Get Involved
The Leadership Academy offers a wide range of opportunities for volunteering. Whether you would like to do regular volunteering through your sports club or non-sport specific, or you’d like to do casual volunteering every once in a while, you can still get involved! All the information on volunteering with the Leadership Academy can be found here.
If you would like more information on any of the programmes and how to get involved please email bex.alexander@nottingham.ac.uk
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