Join In Announces Intersport Partnership

London 2012 legacy charity, Join In, has announced a new partnership with sporting goods retailer, Intersport, to work across a number of projects with grass roots sports clubs and community sports groups across the UK.

Join In works on cementing a long lasting volunteer legacy following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As part of the deal, Intersport becomes an Official Partner to Join In – who was named Community Programme of the Year at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2014 in May.

As part of the collaboration, Join In’s team of over 250 Local Leaders will be matched with their local Intersport store in order to make volunteer resources more accessible to grass roots clubs. Join In Local Leaders are a network of volunteers that work on behalf of the charity to support clubs and team them up with existing and new volunteers in their area.

Minister for Civil Society, Brooks Newmark MP commented: ‘We believe that volunteers are at the core of thriving sports communities, which is why we are proud to have supported Join In from the very beginning. Join In has a clear mission to engage with local sports communities and build on the volunteering legacy of London 2012. It’s fantastic to hear that Intersport share that vision and are committed to supporting Join In and delivering the ongoing social legacy of the Games.’

According to Join In research, each volunteer can facilitate up to twelve additional participants in sport.

Through the partnership, Join In and Intersport will expand their engagement with local sports clubs and groups and support them by providing a strong volunteer network and the resources that they need to develop and grow.

Rebecca Birkbeck, CEO of charity Join In, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Intersport, a major sports retailer with a real passion for grass roots sport. Join In was set up in the wake of London 2012 to help sports clubs across the UK recruit the volunteers they need to thrive and grow. This partnership signals a real step change in our ability to support these clubs who deliver such value into our communities.’

General Manager of Intersport UK, Tom Foley, added: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with Join In, a fantastic charity that embodies our ‘Sport to the People’ philosophy. Our stores throughout the country actively support their local sports communities and this partnership reinforces those relationships with obvious synergies from both sides. Community sport thrives in the UK and Ireland and this is all thanks to the vast number of volunteers who give up their time to help make this possible, so we couldn’t think of a better partner to be working with.’