Worthing Football Club: Working with the Community

There's a saying that "Work is what you do when you wish you were doing something else" ... which means, of course, if you can find a job that you love, then you won't 'work' a day in your life. This sounds pretty straightforward, but many of us end up in jobs that wouldn't have been at the top of our "Career wish list". This might have been because we didn't know what we wanted to be when we grew up, or there's a need for cash, so you take the best option at that time.

During Spring, lots of people start thinking that maybe it's time to try something new... so, if you are out of work or feeling restless, how do you get on that first step towards your worthwhile job? Something that is hard to beat is actual experience in the role you have in mind. However, perhaps you're not in a position to give up a current job, or re-training might need money and time that you don't have at the moment. A low risk and low cost way of gaining experience is to volunteer in an organisation that offers the sort of work you are looking for. This allows you to try things out before committing further and can act as a springboard to achieve change.

Local community organisations and charities welcome keen people who want to help and the range of opportunities might be surprising. For example, at Worthing Football Club, as you might expect, our volunteers include football coaches, managers and physios, helping our team players to reach their potential. However, there are also many volunteers working behind the scenes: these include hands on practical work in maintaining and improving the ground, plus office based and management activities such as premises management, finance and accounting, administration, health and safety compliance and fundraising. Then there is 'match day support' including photographers, stewards, catering and driving the teams to away games, plus media and promotion, including broadcasting (through "Rebel Yell" for live coverage during matches, plus podcasts and interviews), promoting the teams through social media and the Club's Website. All of these are supported by volunteers and offer the opportunity to acquire and develop "transferable skills."

An example of this is where the Club has supported roles for 'media course' students from our local college. By managing the social media of our Football Teams and the Club itself, our students can develop their course portfolio with practical experience, enabling them to gain jobs in the highly competitive realm of sports media. Some organisations may offer free or subsidised training for volunteers: at Worthing Football Club this has included First Aid and Stewarding qualifications.

So, if you fancy trying something new and doing something that supports your local community, whilst increasing your own skills and experience, why not consider volunteering?

For more information about volunteering at Worthing Football Club, please contact Angelatanner@ worthingfc.com