Exciting Volunteering Opportunities – Bridlington or Goole

We are seeking a volunteer club co-ordinator/s and team for a brand new Fitmums & Friends running group in Bridlington or Goole. We would love to hear from you if you would like to be part of this new Fitmums & Friends team by taking on a volunteer role.

Background

Fitmums & Friends started in 2009 when a busy working mum in an East Yorkshire village wanted to combine a love of running with making more friends. It began as an informal run session based from the driveway of her house but quickly grew. The systems of support developed were attractive to increasing numbers of people, and now there are ten Fitmums & Friends clubs across Hull, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire which cater for more than 850 members. Last summer, Fitmums & Friends became a charity, enabling it to support even more people to be more active through its range of friendly and supportive activity sessions.

Since the creation of that first group in East Yorkshire, further groups have emerged led by passionate individuals keen to create a Fitmums & Friends offer in their own local community. A wide range of activities are now offered across the whole network including running (group runs and coached sessions), fitness walking, buggy walks and a buggy boot camp, a cycle squad, junior athletics and even an inter-generational choir. Fitmums & Friends is for everyone – not just women or mums, and you don’t even need to be fit!

The aim of a Fitmums & Friends running group is to offer a complete range of distances at every session. Therefore a 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 mile run is offered to enable people of all abilities to attend. All the distances are led by a trained run leader ensuring appropriate warm up takes place and post-run stretching. To allow members to run at their own pace yet exercise together, we use a simple support system known as “shepherding” which supports those who need to go at a slower pace and still provides a challenge for those who are more capable. As a result, everyone is fit enough for our sessions. Groups meet weekly but can expand to offer more sessions a week and/or to offer different activities such as buggy sessions and fitness walks if wanted.

All Fitmums & Friends groups are led by volunteers and supported by a central Fitmums & Friends team who guide the development and maintenance of the organisation. This team will support the set-up of the new group ensuring our systems and strong principles of support are continued in the new club.

To get a new Fitmums & Friends club off the ground, we need a club co-ordinator in place (this could be two people sharing the role) plus at least five other volunteers willing to become volunteer run leaders. This requires attending a one-day course facilitated by England Athletics. The cost of the course will be subsidised by Fitmums & Friends which means individuals need only pay £40 (of the full course cost of £140).

The new Fitmums & Friends club will become part of a very supportive network – both for members and the volunteer organising team. A club Facebook page and webpage will promote and support the work of the group.

What the co-ordinator role involves

(Please note this could also be a shared role between two people and we encourage the sharing of some roles within the volunteer team.)

• Undertaking the one-day Leadership in Running Fitness course (England Athletics)
  
• Having a regular presence at weekly sessions (not all of them – days off are allowed but there needs to be someone else able to lead in your absence!)
  
• Being the driving force for the club, someone who can lead the other volunteers to ensure things run smoothly and maintain a happy volunteer workforce
  
• Understanding the principles of Fitmums & Friends and that support must be managed for all abilities – this means the beginner runner as well as the faster-paced runners. The co-ordinator needs to have the capacity to have a wide overview of club needs.
  
• Main point-of-contact for all who have a volunteer role within the club, e.g. run leaders
  
• Ensuring the club adheres to the Fitmums & Friends Club Manual (this is a booklet which explains what local clubs must do to maintain club ethos and principles)
  
• Support the Run Leader Co-ordinator in ensuring the Club Coaches & Run Leaders licence record is kept up-to-date
  
• Oversee routes – ensure they are checked prior to each season, support development of new routes where appropriate
  
• Being a leader for the development of the group
  

Roles that can be shared by the co-ordinator and the volunteer team

• Staffing sessions, including welcoming members, leading warm up, leading runs and post-run stretching
  
• Ensure weekly attendance of sessions is recorded on web-based system
  
• Identifying potential new run leaders/assistant coaches/coaches and supporting access to courses for them
  
• Be aware of opportunities to promote club sessions to boost recruitment to the club
  
• Ensure club noticeboard is up-to-date and club folder is adequately resourced
  
• Point-of-contact for members who have queries about any aspect of the club
  
• Responding to enquiries on Facebook and email
  
• Use Facebook to keep members informed about events and to encourage Facebook posts/comments to nurture the post-run support of members on social media
  
• Developing the training schedules twice a year (spring/summer & autumn/winter) – supported by the central team
  
• Ensuring risk assessment reviewed annually
  

We are seeking individuals who have:

• Enthusiasm for Fitmums & Friends and want to be part of an exciting organisation at a time of great expansion
  
• A passion to want to support people of all abilities to improve their health and wellbeing
  
• Confident to lead a team – being a motivating and supportive leader
  
• Time! The roles need people able to commit time to Fitmums & Friends. It is difficult to say how much, however most of our volunteers juggle work and families with their Fitmums & Friends role so we understand this situation, it is do-able!
  
• Good organisation skills
  
• Access to a computer and is computer-literate
  
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate with a range of people, e.g. members, run leaders and members of the public making initial enquiries
  
• Enthusiasm and motivation for taking on a volunteer role and a determination to maintain the high standards of support currently offered by Fitmums & Friends
  

What you will get out of it?

You will be part of a fabulous volunteer team spanning Hull, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, working with people locally who share your passion to support others to be happy, healthy and fit – people who are equally passionate about what Fitmums & Friends is all about. You will be joining us at an exciting time of wider development – the organisation is increasingly being recognised as a model of good practice and one that many other areas of the country want to replicate. Volunteers are essential in our communities and this role is one that enables many people to have healthier and happier lives – if you want a feel-good factor, this role is for you!

Laura, co-ordinator – Beverley Fitmums & Friends says…

“I love being able to be involved in the running of each session and getting to know our members even more. Being in this role means that I can really 'sell' how wonderful Fitmums & Friends is to new starters and watch them progress and integrate into the group. It's great to feel part of such a fantastic group of people and be trusted to be the co-ordinator”.

Details

• Venue – tbc in Bridlington or Goole.
  
• The group will take place on a weekday evening with a start time between 6.30pm or 7pm as this is what works best for existing groups.
  
• We would encourage anyone willing to take on a role to visit an existing Fitmums & Friends group to see our way of doing things.
  
• We will launch this new group as soon as we have found enough volunteers to lead it, training is complete and we have secured a venue.
  

For more information about Fitmums & Friends, please see www.fitmums.org.uk.

If you are interested, please email admin@fitmums.org.uk or call Sam on 07870 654586 or Vickie on 07988 670030. We’ll be happy to chat through any queries you may have and look forward to hearing from you!