Volunteers’ Week is a national celebration of the millions of people who give their time, energy and passion to make a difference in communities across the UK. Each year, it’s a chance to say a heartfelt thank you to volunteers, to recognise the impact they have, and to reflect on how we can continue to support and grow inclusive volunteering opportunities for the future.
At StreetGames we want to recognise the volunteers that are the backbone of activity at our Community Partners, without whom Doorstep Sport simply doesn’t exist.
It’s also an opportunity for us to celebrate the hundreds of young people who have volunteered with us in the past year: from Peer Research initiatives, to the Young Advisors who helped design and deliver a residential as well as co-hosting events including panel discussions at the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences.
When it comes to volunteering, we know it is not a level playing field. Data from Sport England’s latest Active Lives survey shows that stubborn inequalities in volunteering remain, with people from lower socio-economic backgrounds under-represented in volunteering — comprising 30% of the adult population but just 10% of all weekly sport volunteers. This has remained unchanged in the past 10 years.
We are committed to reducing these inequalities by creating engaging and accessible volunteering opportunities that work for young people growing up in low-income, underserved communities. Last year, we provided 50 different youth empowerment opportunities, providing 1,060 young people from the StreetGames network with opportunities to become Young Advisors, Peer Researchers, youth leaders, co-creators and event speakers.
Here is a brief snapshot of some of our highlights since Volunteers Week 2025:
- 45 young volunteers attended and developed their skills at our recent Newcastle residential — which was designed and delivered by a team of seven Young Advisors. In partnership with The Key, the young volunteers will deliver their own social action projects back in their local communities.
- We have supported a number of place-based youth empowerment opportunities; in Hartlepool, for example, 14 young people were provided with training and support to plan, deliver and evaluate local community sport activities for their peers during October half term.
- As part of our Inspiration Campaign we have designed and piloted a new Event Volunteering Team leadership training programme, which has seen young people volunteering at major events including the Hockey Pro League and Aquatics GB Championships.
- Our role as an Event Social Impact Partner of UK Sport has allowed young people from our network to take on unique content creator experiences at the World Boxing Championships and ISU Figure Skating European Championships.
Through opportunities like these, we are proud to be supporting young people to explore new experiences and develop vital skills for their future.