sported. membership in Northern Ireland passes 100

Since opening for membership in Mid-March 2012, sported. membership in Northern Ireland has grown rapidly. We now have over 100 members across the 6 counties of Northern Ireland working with young people aged 11-25 using sport for development.

A number of our members are already benefiting from a sported., small grant programme, while others are receiving support through our mentor programme.  We are working in partnership with NICVA to bring funding advice clinics to our members and with Volunteer Now to deliver 'Creating Volunteer Champion' workshops free, exclusively for our members in Northern Ireland.

Brenda Kelly, Northern Ireland Manager commented: "The rapid growth in membership  demonstrates the need for sported.'s support for sport for development organisations across Northern Ireland". She added: "I am delighted that member groups are now benefitting from our capacity building support which will enable them to continue to change the lives of young people through sport. I would encourage other groups to learn more about the benefits of sported., membership."

We are looking for volunteers to support these new Members towards a stronger and more sustainable future. With the support of our volunteers and their skills and expertise the groups can become more confident in the business areas of their work like financial planning and marketing, operate more efficiently and effectively behind the scenes and survive in challenging circumstances to work with young people for years to come.

Volunteers find working as a sported., mentor very rewarding. When asked why they became involved with sported., one of Mentors commented: "It's a great opportunity to help worthwhile organisations and impart some of my knowledge and experience to people who really appreciate it."  Mentors have the opportunity to work with people who are very passionate about what they do, as a Mentor told us: "I have enjoyed meeting and working with people who are really enthusiastic about what they do and what they want to achieve, but lack the skills which I can assist with."

Our volunteers come from all sectors and bring with them specialist knowledge or skills in relevant areas like strategic planning, fundraising or finance. The exact nature and duration of a volunteer's work with us depends on the expertise of the volunteer and the needs of our Members, but there are general themes:
•    Mentor and motivate a group towards sustainability
•    Help them to identify their goals and their strategy for achieving them
•    Support them to produce a budget and a plan for raising the income
•    Carry out a sustainability 'health-check' with new Members, to help identify their needs
•    Support Members or other volunteers in your area of expertise

Learn more about joining the volunteer team in Northern Ireland