Edinburgh Leisure, the city’s largest provider of sports and leisure services across the Scottish capital has launched a new Volunteer Strategy for 2024-2027.

Volunteers are the heart of Edinburgh Leisure’s Active Communities programme. Their 187 dedicated volunteers make a huge impact, making it possible to deliver over 160 health and wellbeing classes each week, supporting over 12,500 to be active and well.

In 2023-24 Edinburgh Leisure saw a 14% increase in referrals to their Active Communities projects on the previous year (a 41% increase on pre-pandemic levels) demonstrating the growing need and demand for their services. Next year they need to raise almost £1m in external funding to enable them to continue to deliver the level of support they currently provide and grow their programme to support increasing demand

Stephen Hughes, Volunteer Development Manager at Edinburgh Leisure said: “The new strategy outlines our commitment to growing our volunteer programme over the next three years, with a focus on enhancing the volunteer experience, expanding opportunities to make volunteering accessible to all, and strengthening our ties within the Edinburgh Community.

At Edinburgh Leisure, no matter what role is undertaken as a volunteer, training and support is provided.  While their volunteers support Edinburgh Leisure to help their participants get and stay active, they will support volunteers to get the most out of their time with them, empowering them to make their volunteering experience what they want it to be.

In June 2018, Edinburgh Leisure’s Ageing Well programme, which promotes healthy lifestyles for older adults, earned the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS)—the equivalent to an ‘MBE’ for volunteering. Without their volunteers, many of their initiatives simply wouldn’t exist.   Earlier in September 2024, the Edinburgh Lord Lieutenant, Robert Aldridge, accompanied by the Deputy Lieutenant, Elaine Aitken, visited the team to see how they had utilised the award, learnt about its benefits for their volunteers and organisation, and discussed their plans for the future.

The new Volunteer Strategy follows hot on the heels of the launch in September 2024 of Edinburgh Leisure’s first Impact Report since 2015.

If you have time on your hands and would be interested in volunteering with Edinburgh Leisure, you can find out more by clicking here or contact: Stephen Hughes, Volunteer Development Manager at Edinburgh Leisure – stephenhughes@edinburghleisure.co.uk

Download the new Volunteer Strategy