What motivates Olympic volunteers?

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In what's been dubbed the biggest volunteer campaign since World War Two, training will start this weekend for the 70,000 people charged with "making London 2012 happen".

Games Makers and Young Games Makers will be on the frontline of helping visitors and athletes in London and across the UK, during July and August.

At that time of year London would expect to see three million visitors, with a further three million tourists across the rest of the country, according to Visit Britain.

There is apparently no shortage of appetite for volunteering - more than 200,000 people applied and 100,000 were interviewed to be Games Makers.

The successful applicants will be joined by 8,000 London Ambassadors, who will be stationed at visitor attractions and Tube or train stations to help people find their way around.

Up and down the country, councils are also holding similar schemes and volunteers are eagerly waiting to find out if they have been chosen.

But it won't be easy work, volunteers are expected to train for at least three days, work for up to ten hours a day, for a minimum of 10 days, provide their own transport and accommodation - all with a cheery smile.

Here, three volunteers explain what motivates them to get involved.
Gillian Douglas - Games Maker

Gillian, 49, works in the volunteer sector and is from Inverurie near Aberdeen. She doesn't know exactly what she will be doing in the Games but knows she will be part of the venue communications team in London.

"I had my interview last May and found out a few weeks ago - I was absolutely delighted having waited so long.
Gillian Douglas Gillian has wanted to be involved in the Olympics since London won the bid

When the announcement was made that we would get the Olympics, I said I would love to be involved in some way. I've always been a big fan of the Olympics and always been around volunteering.

As a young person I was involved in sport as a swimmer and a gymnast - a lot of sport depends on people giving up time for groups to be successful.

We have a really good swimmer from Inverurie - Hannah Miley - so to see someone like that [hoping to go to the Games] is a great inspiration.

I have two part-time jobs, both of which depend on volunteers to help.

I spend 20 hours working for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) working to improve the lives of people affected by the illnesses and I co-ordinate a befriending service for elderly people.

Volunteers are crucial. To give you an example, at CHSS, we have 1,100 volunteers and we calculate the value - in other words if we had to pay these people - at something like £1m a year.

Volunteering has always been part of my life, I did a charity trek in the Sinai Desert in 2004 and raised £4,000 for the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society and Bethany Christian Trust.

I also did the Edinburgh Moonwalk in 2011, walking 26.2 miles overnight.

As a family we got some tickets for Wembley so I'm hoping to go to that but my shifts will depend on it.

My husband and two sons are going so if I'm working then I'll let one of my son's friends go.

I want to be part of it and meet new people who are as passionate about it as I am.

The phrase Locog uses a lot is that the Games Makers will be the friendly faces of the Games and if we can be that wherever we are in the country, whatever time of day and night we can, it creates a good impression of the people of our country.

It is a big commitment because of where I live but I think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I knew there would be obstacles and would have to be prepared to put up with them.

I'm 50 just before the Games start. It'll be a hard working birthday. I didn't realise until recently how integral volunteering was a part of me so being a Games Maker really will be the icing on the cake."

Juliette Llewellyn - London Ambassadors

Juliette, 40, is from Cardiff. She saw a poster advertising the scheme while staying with friends in London. Juliette has been disabled since 1994 after a serious illness. She has been blogging in the run up to the Olympics and will be based at Southbank in August.

"Going to London is a very positive experience. There is an eclectic mix in London and lots of things going on. Even travelling on the Tube has been a positive experience. It helped me to recover because I had to think about what I was doing and learn how to read the tube map.
Olympic volunteer Juliette Llewellyn Juliette says volunteering will be a challenge but she is ready for it

I enjoy London and wanted to pass that on to people who were coming. I enjoy travel but I have been limited over the years.

I'm starting to get better at exploring areas in Britain and volunteering at the Olympics is a way I can be involved with other people. On top of that was to be part of Olympic Games in some way.

I have been around the outside of the Olympic park and it really opened my eyes. I was quite shocked at how rundown the area was before but on working my way around the park and shopping centre, it all seemed positive.

I know there are some controversies around it but as an outsider I think it seems to lift the area. You've going to have the world's top athletes going there and that has a certain energy of its own.

For a long time I was housebound so to be able to make a trip to London and start to begin to walk around is a major achievement.

When I first became ill I couldn't even lift a plate and struggled with daily things. I got to a stage where I felt I could start doing something but I am unable to commit to a full-time job as my health is too unstable.

I do voluntary projects in Cardiff, and London Ambassadors seemed to be a manageable way I could expand away from home and hope to increase my skills.

When I found out I was really excited and people are supporting me to do it. A couple of my friends in London are more keyed into what's happening but others think I might be carrying the torch or something - so I try to explain what I will be doing.

Generally there is a positive response and it's a good talking point.

I wanted to blog about it as it's a unique time for us all. For me it adds a creative aspect and it will be a record after. As I'm learning about London, I hope it will help people from outside London too."

Terry Mackintosh - Weymouth and Portland Ambassador

Terry, 64, from Dorset will be part of a team of 800 ambassadors who will manage crowds in Weymouth where 500,000 people are expected to descend for sailing events over the Olympic and Paralympic period. Terry retired and moved from Buckinghamshire in 2010.
Olympic volunteer Terry Macintosh Terry will be part of a team advising visitors in Weymouth and Portland

"I didn't think about volunteering until I saw the advertisement and suddenly realised that we were near Weymouth so that was quite exciting.

It was an opportunity to do something which wouldn't happen again in my lifetime and as I've got a bit of time on my hands I put my name down.

I didn't think I would get anywhere near it. The next thing which came along was Weymouth Carnival which was a tester for the Olympic events so I went there as a volunteer and had a great day.

It was hard spending the day on your feet with thousands of people asking questions but I found the whole experience exciting and rewarding.

The last [UK] Olympics were the year after I was born so this is something I can tell my grandchildren about. Something I can generally crow on about when I'm really old.

I quite like sailing and always wanted to get my own little boat. We didn't buy any tickets but if I hadn't been a volunteer I'd probably be popping down to experience it - these are unique events.

My role is yet to be decided but I would be happy to do anything I can to help.

My grandchildren think it's wonderful. They think ambassadors are really important people so I play up to it.

After the carnival, the Weymouth & Portland Olympic organising committee sent me a certificate and badge saying I had taken part.

I've always been that sort of person to get involved. We take so many things out of life and take things for granted. We wonder how things happen, how that hedge gets cut or the roads fixed.

I used to moan a lot about the council and then I thought 'get up and do something about it'.

If you want something done then you need to get up and be counted.

Who knows, next year I could be in a wheelchair. You have to take life and opportunities as they come, and not regret them."

Olympic volunteers in numbers

Games Makers - 70,000
Young Games Makers - 2,000
Trailblazers - 400
London Ambassadors - 8,000
Heathrow volunteers - 1,000

By Jenny Minard
BBC 2012

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Volunteers will get chance to attend opening ceremony dress rehearsal
Thousands of London 2012 Olympic Games volunteers will be given the chance to attend the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony to maintain a high level of staff morale.

London organising committee (Locog) chief executive Paul Deighton said final numbers of volunteers who would be given the opportunity to have a sneak peak of the ceremony "would be in the thousands, not the hundreds".

Locog has instituted an extensive volunteer reward scheme involving points, certificates and collectable pins to keep its 70,000 volunteers interested and motivated leading up to and throughout the Games period. But the ultimate reward for 'Games Makers' would be the chance to be in the main stadium several days before the opening ceremony to view the finishing touches to the artistic elements designed by artistic director Danny Boyle.

"We are not able to get everyone in and we are looking at a number of groups being given a chance so we are finalising how many [volunteers] can come to the rehearsal, but it will be a sizeable chunk, thousands not hundreds," said Deighton.

But if there is a higher than expected attrition rate – tipped to be less than five per cent – Locog has a reserve crew of about 15,000 to 20,000 volunteers to step in.

Deighton said the reverse issue – of having volunteers turn up on their rostered days off during Test events – was the logistical challenge at present.
The volunteers will work eight-hour shifts and for 10 days to supplement paid Games staff. Around 3,000 of them will be seconded to the security details and will assist spectators at the entry points to venues, working alongside the military and the paid security guards.

Tomorrow 30,000 of the volunteers will commence their training at Wembley Stadium where they will undergo a three-hour session of learning about the heritage of the Games, working as part of a team and what organisers expect from them.

"They will come away feeling energised and part of it is having them experience how energised it will be in July," said Locog director of human resources Jean Tomlin.

Telegraph

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Volunteers get practice gig at Wembley Arena

Event for 40,000 'Games Makers' aims to motivate and inform unpaid frontline staff

Tens of thousands of London 2012 volunteers will descend on Wembley Arena on Saturday for the first stage of training for a role seen as vital for a successful Olympics.

Some will end up holding Usain Bolt's kit as he settles down in the blocks for the 100m final, but thousands more will end up giving directions or manning car parks.

In Sydney in 2000, volunteers were hailed as one of the ingredients that made the event a success but at other Games bored unpaid staff have quit and ticket-holders have complained about volunteers' lack of local knowledge.

Paul Deighton, the chief executive of Locog, the 2012 organising committee, said this weekend's orientation event for the so-called Games Makers was a crucial part of the process. Organisers will seek to enthuse and inform 40,000 volunteers in four sessions. In all, Locog will employ 70,000 Games Makers alongside 130,000 other full-time and contract staff.

"This weekend is a really big weekend for us," said Deighton. "Making sure we have got our people and that they're all pointing in the right direction, motivated and fully trained is as big a challenge as we have, given its scale. Getting this right is really, really vital for us."

Organisers received nearly 250,000 applications and are still in the process of filling the 70,000 places available in the Olympics and Paralympics after holding selection events at eight regional centres.

Jean Tomlin, Locog's HR director, said 80,000 applicants had been interviewed and 55,000 places offered. The process will continue until all 70,000 places are filled, with a further 15,000 to 20,000 people placed on a reserve list.

"We've had a phenomenal response in terms of energy, focus and excitement. We've had 95% acceptance rates, which is unprecedented," she said.

The mass "orientation" events, which will be repeated at 32 similar exercises in cinemas up and down the country, are designed to provide an introduction to the history of the Olympics and initial training.

Deighton will be joined by the Locog chairman, Lord Coe, and Olympic rowing medallist Sarah Winckless at the London event.

The three-hour sessions would leave volunteers "feeling energised and knowing what's expected of them", said Tomlin.

More specific sessions will then be arranged depending on the role of each volunteer and the venues in which they will be working.

The volunteers, who will wear distinctive purple and red Adidas uniforms inspired by the Grenadier Guards and the Beatles, will be assigned early to specific teams and venues so they can be well-informed, said Deighton.

"If you look at past Games, people are generally very good on the smiling and welcoming and the challenge is if they can really help if you have a question that goes one level below the surface," he said.

"We want to make sure we not only have really welcoming people but that they really know what they're doing."

Tomlin said that ensuring volunteers were fully occupied and excited was important, to ensure they didn't become bored and quit. They will be offered prizes, including tickets to the opening ceremony dress rehearsal, as incentives.

Volunteers will be fed and watered and receive a free uniform and travelcard, but none of their other travel or accommodation expenses will be met.

"We've learned from previous Games that if you don't focus on that you will get attrition. We will provide rewards and recognition throughout their journey and throughout their shifts," Tomlin said.

She said the average age of volunteers was around 35, and ages ranged from 15 to 80. "Some Games you've had a very young crowd, very student-orientated. Others have had a more mature crowd. We've worked hard at having a real spread," said Deighton.

Up to 3,000 volunteers have been drafted in to assist with security inside the venues after estimates of the number of staff needed soared from 10,000 to 23,700. Tomlin said they would help ticket-holders prepare their bags and belongings for the security screening process and manage queues, but would not be involved in the screening itself.

Guardian