Volunteer Update - October 2021
Welcome to the monthly volunteer update for October
Each week since the last volunteer update was published we have seen more events return around the world, most notably in the Republic of Ireland. With 215 more events taking place now than at the beginning of September, progress continues to be made, and we wholeheartedly thank event teams, ambassadors and landowners for helping to make that happen.
We hope that the volunteer update helps others to be inspired to get involved at parkrun, so why not share the links below on your local event page or with a friend and spread the enjoyment of volunteering.
parkrun turns 17
As you may have seen across parkrun’s social media channels, last weekend marked parkrun’s 17th anniversary, and we took the opportunity to mark it with a huge celebration of volunteering.
Much has changed since the first ever parkrun event at Bushy Park - not least the possibility to buy running shoes in a colour other than white!
Paul and Joanne Sinton-Hewitt, Duncan Gaskell, Simon Hedger and Robin Drummond made up the volunteer team that day, with pen and paper used to record all the results, and washers from the local hardware store acting as finish tokens.
Read all about the evolution of volunteering at parkrun in this fascinating blog article.
Tail Walker
It’s perhaps the most popular volunteering role at parkrun - the Tail Walker. And it’s such an important role too, giving confidence to those who maybe worry that they will finish last.
We’ve released this video that celebrates the Tail Walker role and shows how it can be the perfect entry point for people to get involved with volunteering at parkrun.
How to volunteer
Here’s our simple user guide about how to get involved with volunteering at parkrun. Anyone and everyone can be a volunteer. You need no prior experience and you can volunteer regularly, or just once in a while. All the roles are explained to you on the day, it’s super easy, fun and rewarding. Plus you get to feel a part of your local community.
Why not encourage someone you know to get involved? We think they’ll love it!
The parkrun Ambassador Programme
Have you enjoyed volunteering and would love to get more involved in helping out with parkrun? Then why not consider becoming a parkrun Ambassador.
Volunteer ambassadors play a massive role in helping support parkrun’s mission to create a healthier and happier planet.
Read more about the programme and how to sign up here.
Volunteer Milestone T-shirts
In March this year we announced changes to the milestone t-shirts which means that for every existing walking, jogging, running milestone club there will now be a volunteering equivalent (e.g. jv10, v50, v100, v250, v500). Here’s how they look:
We’re delighted to announce that these t-shirts are now in stock, and available to order for all eligible parkrunners. We can’t wait to see all the new volunteer t-shirts being proudly worn all around the world!
To check your eligibility and to place your order, simply log in to your parkrun profile.
Volunteer Hub
As always, we would really love you to take a look around the Volunteer Hub, where you’ll find all that you need to know about volunteering at parkrun. You can read more about our guiding principles for volunteering here and learn about the different roles that are required for parkrun events.
In addition, the parkrun Safeguarding Hub contains everything you need to know about safeguarding children and vulnerable adults at parkrun events.
Thanks for reading, and until next month, wherever you are in the world, stay safe, keep active, and if you’re close to a parkrun event that’s open - see you at the weekend.