V FOR VOLUNTEER

 

Printed in the National League South programme v Oxford City Sunday 2^nd January 2021  2-2 in front of 1106

So its the New Year and time for some of those resolutions. And what could be a better one than deciding to start volunteering?

Forget joining the gym, which is boring and you know your flake off by January 6^th. If you want to stay fit, there are thousands of conservation charities that are always looking for people to help maintain outside spaces. A green gym that’s much more productive than a covid coughing sweaty indoor one.

If you’re a driver, there’s always community transport companies looking for people to drive minibuses.

If you’re a youngster looking to get into media, its a great way to learn the trade and beef up your CV.

And if you like a bit of football, well look no further than your local lower league clubs who quite literally would collapse if it wasn’t for volunteers as Slough Towns Rebels Radio Ade pointed out to me.

After supporting the club for many years, he decided to help with stewarding, then covered the turnstiles when needed. Did a couple of end of season walks and helped out with the Supporters Trust for about 18 months. Before he knew it he was invited to join the Operations Committee!

So what happens on a matchday? “On an average we have around 30 to 40 volunteers per game, rising to about 50 for the bigger games such as the visit of Arsenal. With Arbour Park council owned, everything you see is set up before the gates open and taken down after the final whistle. From the people you see as you enter the ground, during the game and after the game, EVERYONE is a volunteer.”

To get a scale of this operation, Ade let me know just who is needed to do what. Car park 4-6 people, turnstile 2-4, boardroom 1-2 , set-up 3-6, catering 6-9, bar 4-8, club shop 1-2, ball collection 4-6, media 3-4.

“Also very important that not all volunteers are on match days, all our committee members are volunteers. In my role as Matchday Operations Manager this club could not survive without people giving up their time for this club, none of us ever take any of them for granted and although we don’t pay them, we try to give them a reward when we can.”

So does the club need more people to help? “Should anyone want to step forward we would welcome them with open arms. We won’t ask you to do anything you don’t/can’t do and we would work round your availability not ours. You would not be needed every game and many of our volunteers watch the full game and don't miss a Scotty Davies 60 yard pass or a Freddie Grant bullet header goal. Doesn’t matter what your skills are we can always find you a job to do.”

“The hardest part of running the club on match day is when we’re short of volunteers and just need a bit of help as cover. Anyone wishing to volunteer can contact either myself or Kay, they can come and see us on a matchday or email us via the clubs website.”

Everyone knows Clubshop Sue so how did she get involved? “I started doing it because Aidan (my husband) and the girls used to go and in the end thought I might as well go as well. Ended up running the club shop and loving it. Love the family atmosphere and have been lucky enough to have a great bunch of lads playing for us. As for Aidan he likes helping out the club and spending the time on the turnstile with his best mate laughing and joking with the supporters.” Or abusing some of them!

Phil the Flags is part of the ‘comedy’ duo that run the main turnstiles. “I started watching back in the days at the Dolphin with Aiden’s brother, when they had the Slough Kop. We heard the club needed people so volunteered for the turnstiles. I used to follow Man United everywhere but got totally fed up better ripped off and just a £ to them. At our level it’s so much more fun, every knows each other and players, managers and staff appreciate you. It’s like an extended family.”

There are so many unsung heroes behind the Slough Town scenes, so it’s always worth remembering – before you complain, have you volunteered yet?

Happy New Year