14th June '23 | Blog
I love volunteering especially when it also involves my all time favourite sport – NETBALL. I’ve been involved with my local grassroots cub for the past four years, helped along by the fact that my two daughters now share my passion for this silly seven aside sport.
My husband would probably complain that the three of us are rarely seen and we only see each other once or twice a week, other than that netball dominates our after school and weekend schedules. The phrase Eat, Sleep, Repeat is pretty much a mantra in our household and the washing machine is always full of bibs and kit being prepared for the next trip away or netball weekend.
I’m also fortunate to be the Chair of our netball club which is a full-time job in itself, just without the salary to go with it! ????
As we know grassroots sport is hugely underfunded and ever since the pandemic, we seem to have struggled more and more to cover the ever-rising costs of facility hire and it’s the parents who take the full impact of any costs incurred, it’s a never ending battle.
Would I change it – would I heck!
I relish the constant challenges and I love being able to help those future netball stars find their place in the sport. Sport is brutal but it’s also overwhelmingly welcoming, giving the girls a place where they can be themselves and spend time with team mates and coaches having fun and making memories and hopefully building relationships that will last for years, if not forever.
My piece of advice for anyone thinking about helping out with a local club or charity is – go for it! It’ll be tough and there will be days when you ask yourself why you’re doing it, but they will be few and far between. The rest of the time you will have amazing memories to look back on and an amazing sense of pride.
Find your own volunteer opportunity here – Greater Manchester
