Jodie has been volunteering for a number of years now in-between her competing at Judo both for the University and England (she recently completed her first Judo Olympic training camp in Croatia and represented the University at the European University Student Games in 2018). She is also one of her Sports Scholars and this year she was recognised for all efforts and awarded the Director of Sports Award at our recent Awards evening.

“To me volunteering means opportunity and giving something back”.

As far as her University volunteering roles are concerned she has often helped us out at events, especially those involving local school children inspiring them to get into Judo and University life. In her home town of Northampton she has coached at her local club and volunteered within schools.

“It (Volunteering) has opened so many doors for me; meeting new people, gaining more experience and knowledge, enhancing my CV, gaining qualifications and has led to paid work!”

Whilst at University Jodie has completed many awards and courses in addition to her degree through Career Development Week and the Sports Ambassador Programme including Multiskills Level 2 and First Aid

We wish all the best to Jodie in her pursuit of Olympic qualification for 2020 and her new coaching business she has set up following the completion of her degree.

Charlotte got involved in volunteering at the University in her first year by becoming a sports activator with our social sports programme and assisting our partners Walsall Football Foundation Club with the then new piloted WildCats session which was an FA iniative to introduce young girls to football. Zoom on 2 years and Charlotte has obtained her Level 1 and Level 2 FA Coaching Badges (via Career Development Week and the Sports Ambassador programme), assisted local grassroots clubs in the area and has managed a Girls Football Team as long as doing a part-time role with the Walsall Football Foundation Club as Female Football Development Officer

“Volunteering has opened doors for me that I never thought I could reach. I have managed to meet and network with inspiring people and gain invaluable experience from these opportunities”.

Charlotte has now graduated but is coming back to complete her Masters so she will soon be back inspiring other students to volunteer and reap the rewards it brings.

Amar has volunteered at the University for the last 3 years. This has mainly be in a sporting capacity but he has on occasions been “on the decks” playing the music at our Sports events – very multi –talented!

The last 12 months has seen Amar be the assistant Coach for our University 1^st Team which has been a huge commitment as it not only involves training and matches on a Wednesday afternoon but also every Saturday throughout the season as this team had its inaugural season in the Total Motion Midland League.

“Volunteering at the university has meant a lot to me as the members of staff there have gave me an opportunity to do something I love in order to pursue my career of working in football”.

Whilst at University Amar has completed numerous courses through Career Development Week and the Sports Ambassador programme included his Level 1 and Level 2 in Football and enabled a number of other students to get involved in playing football.

Good Luck Amar with your future endeavours.

Ben started his volunteering at University through WLV Sport as he assisted the department deliver football sessions to the Mens Second Team as he gained his Football Level 2 qualification via the Career Development programme.

“Volunteering at WLV sport as 2nd team assistant manager gave me the opportunity to understand working within an elite team environment also winning the league was a great achievement.” 

Ben continued to support the department combining his Computer degree and his love for Football throughout his time at University via the field of Performance Analysis. Through the links he built up with the department he was able to further his volunteering in the game of Netball with Wasps Netball who play in the Vitality Netball Superleague and Birmingham City Women’s Football Team who play in the English Womens Super League and boast English internationals within their ranks – both fantastic opportunities and top class experiences that involved a lot of effort but well worth it !

“Having the support of the WLV Sport team while doing my volunteer placement at Birmingham City Women  gave me the opportunity to now be in the position of Head Of Performance Analysis for one of the biggest women teams in the world”. 

Hear more from Ben about his 3 years at University and his role as a Sports Analyst at Birmingham City Football Club

“Volunteers are not paid ... not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless” states Chloe when asked to comment about her Volunteer journey.

Chloe completed her volunteering at a number of local organisations including schools, local grassroots football clubs and within WLV Sport itself mainly but not exclusively within our Activator and Social Sport programme. Through this programme she has encouraged fellow students to participate, get involved and reap the benefits of sport and physical activity. In return she has gained valuable experience and qualifications to assist her with her future career aspirations.

“As a volunteer working with children and adults one thing was always the same... the smile on their faces during and after each session. Knowing that by volunteering my time had a positive impact on a number of different people gives me great justification for the many hours spent working with them. These opportunities allowed me to gain a variety of experiences and allowed me to develop different life skills for my future career. Lastly, but most importantly volunteering developed my University experience and I could not be more thankful to everyone along my volunteering journey.” 

Geovannie has volunteered at a number of organisations during his time at University including a local primary school, The Way Youth Zone Wolverhampton, Walsall Football Club, Wednesfield FC and lately as Foundation Phase Coach at Walsall FC Academy to name a few. Alongside this he has not only continued to complete his studies but he has also progressed up through the Football Coaching ladder completing his Level 1 and Level 2 via Career Development Week and going on to gain his Uefa B. He is a great advocate for Volunteering stating

“Volunteering has helped me gain experiences not only in the field that I would like to work in but also in others, it has also created experiences for me that have helped me improve on areas that I felt were my weakest points. I now feel that I am in a place where I have gained enough experience and have given the time I needed to better myself in order to push forward with my career.

"Volunteering is not just about learning the skills of your trade, it is about being able to gain life experiences that will help define the person you become in the future".

We wish Geo good luck in his football career and we are sure his experience and qualifications gained during his time at University will stand him in good stead