Who Are We?

Manchester Event Volunteers:

• Developed from the Volunteer Crew at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, keeping alive the ‘count me in’ attitude to volunteering!
• Have supported thousands of national, regional and community sporting events including the Great Manchester Run, the Squash and Badminton Championships and the Paralympic World Cup.
• Also support non-sporting events as varied as rock and pop concerts at the City of Manchester Stadium, St Ann’s Hospice, the British Red Cross and Manchester Pride.
• Have provided thousands of training hours to hundreds of volunteers.

How can we help you?

Each month we give you the opportunity to get involved with a host of major international and local events. Volunteering with MEV is about personal choice and you decide which events you would like to be involved with.

We can also offer you a range of training opportunities including First Aid, Health and Safety, and Introduction to Team Work which lead to recognised qualifications and, if necessary, can help you with finding a job.

“Each day I spend as a volunteer I regard as a privilege, not a chore. I find that working as a volunteer is rewarding…it is not a “stop gap” but an ongoing way of life which I would recommend to both young and old.” - MEV Volunteer

Any City of Manchester resident can take part. So, if you would like to get involved, you can register your details or call 0161 234 1532.

If you live outside the Manchester boundary (i.e. Stockport, Tameside, Salford or Trafford) you can visit www.do-it.org or your nearest volunteer centre for more information on local opportunities.

Our Mission Statement

Our aim is to provide volunteer support for a range of community, regional and national events.

Introduction

The UK Government designated 2005 as the year of the volunteer and cites one of its main aims was to “increase the number of volunteers, particularly from marginalised groups, and young people in those groups”.

Manchester Event Volunteers has elicited significant interest and support from international, national, regional and local bodies and has clearly demonstrated that there is a potential link between volunteering and regeneration, education, training and sustainable employment. It has also provided a model of good practice that can be replicated throughout the North West region and beyond.

The service provided by the Manchester Event Volunteers (MEV) has demonstrated the ability to:

• increase awareness of and participation in volunteering, particularly amongst disadvantaged groups;
• use volunteering as a route to employment and increased employability; and
• effectively link voluntary action and local regeneration and community development
• work with people between the ages of 16-25, people with disabilities, the BEM community, asylum seekers, people on long term benefit and people with no formal qualifications

Background and Context

Manchester Event Volunteers (formerly The Post Games Volunteer project (PGVP)) was designed to build upon the success of the XVII Commonwealth Games Volunteer Programme by harnessing the commitment and enthusiasm demonstrated by volunteers during the Games. Those who had participated in the Games were invited to be included onto a new database to be contacted for future events. In addition, a model of delivery was developed based on that of the Pre-Volunteer Programme (PVP) which involved contracting with outreach providers in the North West. The aim was to target disadvantaged individuals who could benefit from the development of the skills and confidence gained through volunteering and the training associated with it. As a potential route to employment, it attracted funding from the European Social Fund (ESF), the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB), the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

A central team was established to co-ordinate volunteer activity by working closely with local Further Education providers, outreach agencies, volunteers and event organisers to develop the service, achieve the outcomes required by the funding provision and maintain the high reputation of event volunteering established by the Commonwealth Games’ volunteers.