17, January 2013
Olympic legacy sees young people volunteer 10,000 hours to sport
As a direct result of the Olympics, young people in Wales volunteered more than 10,000 hours of their time supporting sporting activities across the country during MV50 Sport’s first year.
The MV50 Sport initiative, a new award for volunteering, was launched in September 2011 as part of highly successful Millennium Volunteers programme and the legacy for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The award is given to 14 to 25-year-olds for volunteering 50 hours in school and community sport – and is expected to help get more people more active, as well as ‘empowering and inspiring’ youngsters to become role models and leaders.
Half of the 10,000 hours were given in Denbighshire and Blaenau Gwent, with the remaining 5,000 spread across Wales’s remaining counties. To date, over 250 young people have received a 50 hours award certificate.
‘MV50 Sport was launched as part of the Olympic legacy and to recognise the time given by young people to support activities across Wales,’ said Millennium Volunteers Co-ordinator David Heald.
‘To have reached 10,000 hours given already is a good example of how much volunteering in sport is going on – and we know that this is only the tip of the iceberg, since nearly half of those hours have been in just two counties.’
One of the Blaenau Gwent awardees is Danielle Jones, 16, a Young Ambassador for Sport Wales who volunteers locally as a netball coach.
‘I completed my MV50 Sport award within a few weeks and this encouraged me to get my 100 hours,’ she said. ‘I’m now working towards the 200 hours award. I mainly coach 12 to 15-year-olds and really enjoy helping them to improve and ensuring they have fun.
‘I’m proud of what I have achieved as a volunteer and am looking forward to the future. Recognition of what you do encourages and rewards you, and the MV certificates are not only great for this, but are also a great way of promoting my sporting experience.’
Chair of Sport Wales Laura McAllister said the Welsh Government and Sport Wales were committed to getting more people more active in sport. 'We believe it is essential to empower and inspire young people in Wales to become role models and leaders,’ she added.
'With the right opportunities, they can encourage and reward their peers to take part in sport and physical recreation. Central to this programme is the principle that young people drive opportunity and change for their peers. MV Sport is great way of recognising and rewarding these committed young people.’
- For further information on Millennium Volunteers, call the WCVA Helpdesk on 0800 2888 329.
For more information please contact Lynne Reynolds on 029 2043 1718
or David Heald on 029 2043 1728. GwirVol website
Notes to editors:
- Millennium Volunteers (MV) is the country’s leading youth volunteering programme, encouraging 16 to 25-year-olds across Wales to give 200 hours of their time to projects of their choice.
- Certificates are awarded to recognise 50 and 100 hours of volunteering as stepping stones towards the 200 Hours Award of Excellence certificate, which is signed by the First Minister.
- MV is part of the GwirVol initiative, a partnership of public, private and third sector organisations promoting and developing youth volunteering in Wales.
- MV50 Sport is delivered with support from Sport Wales, Sports Leaders UK and Street Games. Information on the next round of grants is available from GwirVol, on 029 2043 1763, or e-mail
- WCVA supports and represents the third sector in Wales, with more than 3,000 members including a wide range of organisations working on issues such as housing, economic regeneration, childcare, community development, transport, the environment and health.
Data Protection Act 1998 Contact details (name, address, organisation, tel, fax, emails) of press contacts are held and processed by WCVA on computer. The information is used by WCVA for the promotion of the voluntary sector in Wales. Contact details are disclosed to third parties for the purposes of assisting this promotion.