Sported is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a two-year grant from Comic Relief to continue the funding of its volunteer programme.

Sported’s volunteer programme gives people the chance to utilise their professional skills and knowledge to support the growth and sustainability of community sport and youth groups operating in some of the most deprived areas of the UK.

Since Comic Relief first funded the programme in 2015, Sported has expanded its volunteer services team and launched a range of flexible new services for the benefit of its members and volunteers alike. It includes Sported’s new short-term ‘Light Touch’ service, to help community groups with their one-off operational challenges. To date, over 150 Sported volunteers have donated their time to the service, to the benefit of over 400 Sported members.

The new wave of Comic Relief funding will support the ongoing delivery and expansion of Sported’s volunteer services offer through to 2019. This includes the development of further flexible volunteer options, volunteer recruitment and retention with a focus on women and BAME groups, and creating new training and development opportunities.

Sandra Hillyard, Volunteer Services Manager at Sported, said: “A huge thanks to Comic Relief for their continued support of our volunteer services and the wider Sport for Change sector. Sported’s volunteers play a vital role in supporting our members in key operational areas, such as business planning or finance. The new funding will help us to expand our offering and create new opportunities for our members to benefit from our volunteers’ professional expertise and knowledge.”