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An army of 1,500 volunteers is being recruited to provide the warmest of welcomes to visitors to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The Host City Volunteers will bring passion and pride to Glasgow’s streets, as they help visitors to navigate around the city at Games-time, providing information on the sports programme, Live Zones, and the many cultural activities the city will have on offer.

 
The volunteer programme is part of Host City Glasgow – a three-year project, led by Glasgow Life to help enhance the potential impact of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on civic pride, volunteering legacy, and communities in the host city.  The £1.7million project has just been awarded £632,000 by the Big Lottery Fund, with other funding and support provided by Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life.  As the host city, Glasgow is looking to maximise opportunities for local people to feel connected with, and play an active part in, delivery of the Games. The project will offer exciting opportunities to do just that, while welcoming visitors, and showcasing the city.

The Host City Volunteer programme will target communities and groups that may have previously encountered barriers which prevented their involvement in volunteering. The volunteers, who will all live, work or study in the city, will receive training and support before, during and after the Games, with the hope that many will use the opportunity as a springboard to further enhance their own lives or those of their local communities.

Councillor Archie Graham, the Chair of Glasgow Life and Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "These volunteers will be the face of Glasgow and will represent the real heart and soul of the city, offering a welcome that's bursting with warmth, passion and pride. I've absolutely no doubt that the people of Glasgow will be the magic ingredient that makes for the best ever Commonwealth Games and I'm delighted that through the Host City Volunteer programme, we can support individuals and communities to be part of that.
 
"We're absolutely committed to ensuring that those who have faced barriers to volunteering, such as disabled people or those with caring responsibilities, will now be able to be part of the biggest celebration Scotland has ever seen. I'm also delighted that the Big Lottery is supporting us to achieve a real, lasting legacy for everyone who takes part."

The Host City Volunteer programme will provide additional support for those who require it, from helping to pay for transport costs, to providing dedicated training and operational support. Recruitment will take place early in the New Year, with volunteers undergoing training from April 2014.

Cllr Graham added: "They are Glasgow's best and our support will break down the barriers, allowing them to be the greatest of city assets as we welcome the world in 2014."

Maureen McGinn Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair said: “The Big Lottery Fund is delighted to offer this funding which gives those people who live, work or study in Glasgow the chance to get involved and be part of the Glasgow’s Commonwealth games experience.

“We know from the success of the London 2012 Games Makers that being a volunteer can be a life changing experience and, as this once in a lifetime opportunity comes around, our funding to the Host City Volunteer programme will help to ensure people from all across the city benefit have a chance to be a part of it.”

The Host City Volunteers will work across the Festival 2014 Lives Zones at Glasgow Green, Merchant City, and the Kelvingrove Bandstand, as well as along active travel routes. They will help spectators and visitors with directions and information on city attractions and the Festival 2014 cultural programme.

The Host City Glasgow project will also deliver a flexible learning programme over the next three years, which aims to enable the city’s communities to engage with the delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and future major event opportunities via a programme of interactive learning, citizenship, and volunteering.

For more information regarding this release please contact:

Big Lottery Fund: Emma Whitfield, Communications Manager
0141 242 1415 | 07880 737157 | emma.whitfield@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Glasgow Life: James Doherty, Media Manager
0141 287 5970 | 07825 451 520

For more information on Big Lottery Fund Scotland (including programmes and grants awards):
Visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/scotland
Ask BIG: http://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk/help/scotland
Call: Big Advice Scotland: 0300 1237110

Notes to editors

• The Host City Volunteer programme is not open for general applications. Recruitment will be led by Glasgow Life, in conjunction with a range of partner organisations which will help shape the development, delivery and legacy of the Host City Glasgow project as a whole.
• Big Lottery Fund is the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• Big Lottery Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 The Fund has awarded close to £6bn.The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £30 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
• The Scotland Committee has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007.  As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee, led by Chair, Maureen McGinn, has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
• The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through its Investing in Communities portfolio, as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All, Investing in Ideas, Communities and Families and 2014 Communities.