We have been working with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation (LRF) to develop some new volunteering opportunities for our students.
The LRF has recently won Foundation of the Year award from Rugby Football League (RFL) due to their amazing work in the local area. This new partnership has been created to expand the number of volunteer programmes available to University of Leeds students, with some staff also being involved. It will look to build on new experiences to work with schools, the wider community and performance sport.
Head of Sport & Physical Activity, Suzanne Glavin shared her support for the new programme:
“We are hopeful that this pilot will be very successful and allow us to continually expand the programme. Our ambition is to have up to 300 students as part of this partnership! We would love to see students volunteering across Leeds on a range of different projects to benefit the wider community.”
The following projects are being piloted in 2018/19:
Schools
Working with LRF schools programme, we will be training and sending 15 students to help assist in schools. The volunteers will come from our many clubs and societies and will work alongside a designated LRF schools cluster coach. Through working alongside a qualified coach the volunteers develop their skills and also bring their own sport to local primary schools in Leeds.
Head of Community and Engagement at Leeds Rhinos Foundation Gareth Cook said:
“We are delighted to be working with the University of Leeds on these projects. Our work in schools now reaches over 100 schools so the support from the students will be extremely valuable. Last year we launched our Physical Disability Rugby League team, which was a huge success and in the next year we expect more people to get involved and more fixtures for the team. To have a team of volunteers focussing on their S&C will be a great resource for the team.”
Strength and Conditioning
Students will also be given the opportunity to assist with strength and conditioning (S&C) sessions for the Leeds Rhinos Physical Disability team. A number of our own staff will work alongside the students to help develop the squad. They will be assisting the Rhinos training and helping them prepare for their upcoming season.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering at Leeds then take a look at our volunteering page.
