2012 Volunteering
Apply now to become a Welcome to Hackney volunteer
The BBC Radio 1 Hackney Weekend 2012 and Hackney's street events to welcome the Olympic flame are just two major events taking place in the summer of 2012 which will need plenty of volunteers. Hackney Council aims to recruit 300 Welcome to Hackney volunteers who will welcome visitors to the borough and help the Games time events run smoothly. Find out more about the programme and how to apply.
The deadline for applications is 13 February 2012.
2012 Volunteering - other opportunities
"The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will give Hackney residents many opportunities to volunteer," says Cllr Jonathan McShane, Hackney Council's cabinet member with responsibility for the voluntary sector.
"It is a great way to feel part of the whole 2012 experience, while helping to provide a lasting legacy for East London and learning new skills and develop new contacts."
Hackney Hosts
Hackney Hosts are volunteers who will be trained to support Hackney's welcome for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, gaining valuable skills and experience in the process. You can give as much or as little time as you want. The scheme is run jointly by Hackney Council's 2012 unit and the regeneration charity Peabody. Find out more and apply
Hackney 2012 Youth Ambassadors
This team of 30 young people are aged between 13 and 19 and are playing an important role in inspiring their peers to participate in activities linked to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and representing Hackney 2012 both within and outside the borough. Find out more
East London Greeters
If you love Hackney and want to share your knowledge about some of the borough's hidden gems with visitors to the city in the run-up to the 2012 Games, join this scheme which is run by the five Olympic and Paralympic host boroughs. You will need to give at least two days a month to the scheme. Full training is given. Find out how you can become one Hackney's team of greeters.
Changing Places
Would you like to be part of a team of volunteers who will help to clean up and improve areas closest to the Olympic Park, especially the many waterways? Opportunities with this London 2012-sponsored programme can come up at any time and there is no specific deadline to apply. To find out more and register your interest see changingplaces@london2012.com.
Games Makers and Young Games Makers
London 2012 is in the process of appointing 70,000 Games Makers to perform a range of vital roles leading up to and during the 2012 Games. Volunteers will commit at least 13 days in total, including three training days, with about 70% working as generalists (eg. stewarding) and 30% working as specialists (media operations staff, doctors, sports professionals).
Games Maker applications have now closed - but there are plenty of other ways to get involved in volunteering. See the London 2012 website for more information.
For those who will be aged under 18 at games time, London 2012 will unveil its young Games Maker programme in summer 2011. See the London 2012 website for further details
Personal Best
370 Hackney residents have completed the Personal Best programme which has helped them to learn new skills and achieve accredited qualifications. Graduates from the scheme are guaranteed an interview as a 2012 Games Maker volunteer. Personal Best has now ended but to see how volunteering helped one volunteer see the case study (right).
Personal Best graduates who decide not to become Games Makers can take advantage of a range of other volunteering opportunities that arise in the borough leading up to an including Games-time. New volunteering opportunities will be announced on these web pages and in Hackney Today.
Between now and 2012
You don't have to wait until 2012 to start volunteering. There are thousands of volunteering opportunities around the capital, from environmental projects and holiday play schemes to van driving and hospital fundraising. These organisations are a great place to start if you want to get some volunteering experience under your belt.
Page updated: 1 Feb 2012