Sports Volunteering – Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

   Sports volunteering in Lithuania is generally associated with larger events, but there are few volunteers who work in sports organizations or small events. The Lithuanian Sports University initiated the two-week Erasmus Intensive Program "European Identity through Volunteering in Sport” (EIVoS) funded by the European Commission. The aims of the program are to identify problems and encourage volunteering.

   This program has already been bringing together students from Belgium, Italy, Finland and Lithuania for three years. It covers different aspects of volunteering in sport – the development of European identity and active citizenship, the social and economic impact of volunteering, its integration into a sports organization. "Currently, there are about 3000 sports volunteers in Lithuania. Most of them work in sports clubs. However, when we started analyzing their activities and problems we did not receive any information. Managers of small sports organizations do not always understand the importance of volunteering. Volunteers can not only help during the events, but also can contribute to their organizing procedure. We wish the managers of small sports organizations understood this and paid more attention to volunteers" – said the coordinator of the program, Associate Professor of LSU, Dr. Vilma Čingienė.

   The students participating in the program will not only share the experience of volunteering in their own countries, but will also be interested in volunteering in Lithuania. They will visit handball, rowing, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, combat sports, motor sports and football clubs. The surveys carried out by the students should reveal how to promote volunteering in sports clubs and apply the volunteering model discussed during the intensive program. In addition, the program will aim at paying more attention to sports volunteers in Lithuania at present and in future.
 

Information of LSU