Volunteers' Week Spotlight - Martin✨

Volunteers' Week is a national celebration takes place every year during the first week of June, honouring the incredible impact volunteers have on their communities. It's a perfect moment to recognise, celebrate, and thank those who give their time so generously.

To mark the occasion, we’re highlighting the amazing volunteers supporting communities and charities across Bath & North East Somerset. To champion their contributions and show our appreciation, 3SG has spoken with several local volunteers to share their inspiring stories. Each day from June 2nd to 8th, we’ll be featuring a different volunteer and the difference they make.

On behalf of all charities, community groups, and third sector organisations across Bath & North East Somerset, we extend a heartfelt thank you to every volunteer. By sharing these stories, we hope to not only celebrate your efforts but also inspire others to get involved.

Martin

Our next volunteer, Martin , is a Programme Director for a Satellite Communications company. He has been volunteering for Bath City Football Club Foundation for past six years. He has vast experience volunteering with football clubs and has also volunteered internationally with a charity implementing clean water projects in Ghana. Read on to hear more about Martin's experiences, motivations and advice.

What inspired you to start volunteering?

As I got older and couldn’t play as much as I wanted, volunteering became a great way to stay connected to football and pass on some of what I’ve learned — not just skills, but the values and mindset the game’s given me. I can’t commit to coaching a team week in, week out, so volunteering with the Foundation gives me the flexibility to still make an impact. Football has given me some of my best mates and favourite memories, and I want the next generation to have the same chance. My dad’s a big part of that too — he was Chairman of Leeds Schools FA and coached kids for over 50 years, including a current England international and a couple of ex-Premier League players. He’s been a massive inspiration.

What have you learnt from your experiences?

I’ve learnt that everyone can make a difference — even if it’s just to one person. What may seem like a really small thing to us, might make the world of difference to them. We all have the chance to enrich someone’s life, and I genuinely believe it’s our responsibility to do that when we can. But it’s not just one-way — as much as we try to pass on our experience to the kids, we’re constantly learning from them too. I started out with quite fixed ideas about coaching, based mainly on working with adult teams, but I’ve definitely had to become more flexible — especially when coaching girls or working with groups who have additional learning needs and challenges.

Have there been any stand alone moments or stories from your volunteering that you'd like to share?

At one of the schools, we had a lad who, by his own admission, was overweight, hadn’t really played football before, and didn’t have the confidence that some of the others did. He left his first session in tears after some name-calling, but after a chat, he agreed to give it another go the following week. Fast forward four years — he’s now playing for a local team, in great shape, and has even volunteered with the Foundation himself. It’s really down to his own resolve, determination, and resilience, but I like to think that without that early encouragement, he might not have taken that path. It’s something I’m genuinely proud of — seeing how much he’s grown, not just in football, but in confidence and as a person.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start volunteering?

To coin a famous tag-line: Just Do It. You won't regret it and have absolutely nothing to lose. It's great for mental health - the feeling you get from helping others, from making a difference, and you'll learn a tonne of stuff along the way.

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Interested in becoming a volunteer?

Check out our Volunteer page for more information, and where else to find opportunities.

You can also subscribe to 3SG's monthly Community Newsletter, and 3SG's Volunteer Whatsapp group, to be kept up to date with new, local volunteer opportunities, on a monthly basis.