SNAP are heavily involved in supporting the grassroots game and want to see rugby move forward!
Our sponsorship portal has been developed in partnership with rugby clubs, in order to support them with club sponsorship and fundraising. Our focus is to create sustainable revenue and structured management system for grass roots clubs to thrive long term.
The website has been developed to help grass roots rugby club's professionalise their sponsorship and simplify the management of various sponsorship accounts, as well as, securing new sponsors. This will reduce the burden and pressure on tireless volunteers who help make local rugby clubs what they are. Without volunteers local rugby clubs would not be the same!
Rugby clubs can have that same local feel, with the benefit of a sustainable commercial side to the club that can support the long term need of the club.
The article below, by Michelle Harvey, shows the importance of volunteers and the future of grassroots rugby.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VOLUNTEERING – THE FUTURE OF GRASSROOTS RUGBY CLUBS
By MICHELLE HARVEY
When my son first joined our local rugby club, aged just 5 years old, I didn’t give it a second thought on how it was run and who did what.
One Sunday, shortly into his second season, I was chatting with another mum, who was collecting the subs. Out of interest, I asked her what the subs went towards, and we ended up in a lengthy conversation about how the club was run, volunteering and how the future of the club depended on people, just like her, to put their hand up and take on a role.
I always offered my help at the local junior school my kids went to, so I asked if there was anything I could do to help the club. Fast forward 15 years, and I am still there, volunteering and enjoying it.
Volunteering was always something that I felt was an “invisible job” – there was no real job description, people moulded the position to fit their lives (being busy, you did what you could manage). But it is becoming more defined, and the roles enable people to learn on the job, attend courses, and get rewarded for their time.
But, it is still incredibly hard to recruit people. I often go for the ‘softly softly’ approach, I see a new friendly face at registration, someone who looks approachable, and I go and have a chat. I find out what they do for a living, and then I say how much we could benefit from their skills at the club! Not always easy, but someone must do it!!
As we have more and more “red tape” to cut through, the more these people are needed. Every age group must have a voluntary first aider – but what if your team is big enough to split into two? One team is away, and one team is at home? So, 2 first aiders are then needed, everyone has to have the DBS check, more digging about in their private lives, and this can put people off. Then there are safeguarding officers, team managers, coaches, fixtures secretaries, refs, tea and coffee makers…the list is endless. And sadly, I see more and more parents drop and go, relishing the 2 hours quiet time whilst their child trains and plays. (most parents do stay and watch, and this is encouraged at the younger age groups).
The RFU have now stepped up, and recognise these volunteers with annual awards and presentation events. I also actively encourage our younger adults to step up and volunteer, and this is recognised by our club writing a reference on the young person’s CV, or a letter of endorsement, this is invaluable when they go out to look for work, and sets them aside from the rest.
But would the Grassroots club be the same if it was run by employed people? Absolutely not!! These amazing Volunteers bring something special to the club, they love the game, they have a strong sense of community spirit, and they do it because they love it. Now that kind of commitment can’t be bought!
So next time you are at a local rugby club, make sure you thank whoever serves you your coffee, or takes your subs, or administers first aid to your child, they are a part of a special army, not the tambourine banging kind, but the mud and odd shaped ball kind. They are rugby volunteers, and they are the best.
SNAP are already supporting lots of ruby clubs and volunteers. If your local club or team needs our support - please get in touch with us and let us know how we can help
