Why Volunteers at WWFC
- WWFC are no different to many EFL clubs in having volunteers who provide help for the club in many different ways. This applies to clubs who have Supporters Trust involvement in ownership and to those who do not.
- The volunteer set up at WWFC originated when the Club was wholly Trust owned and the original intention was to provide support and help in areas where the club could not afford to hire personnel.
- They started life as PALS and later changed the title to Volunteers. They have been in existence for well over 10 years now.
- Originally they were run independently but affiliated to the Club and supervised by John Derben.
- I took over responsibility for Volunteers in 2020 when John Derben started to “retire” I brought them under the supervision of the Trust at that time, working closely with Neil Peters of the Club. With David Cook we developed a comprehensive Volunteer Practice and Policy document which every volunteer has to sign before commencing “work”
- Para 1 of the policy document states – “Wycombe Wanderers Football Club (“The Club”) is assisted by Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Group Ltd (WWSGL), trading as the Trust, and will cooperate in managing the volunteer work force formed to assist the Club in its’ day-to-day operations.”
- I have attached the full policy below for info.
- When the Trust sold 75% of WWFC to Feliciana – Rob Couhig, it was agreed with Rob that the Volunteers were a valuable part of the Club contributing to that “Special Wycombe way” and he very much wanted them to continue as before. He valued their contribution and recognised this by personally thanking them from time to time, welcoming them on the pitch and funding volunteer of the year award. When the Trust then reduced its shareholding in WWFC to 10%, the same principles were followed.
- We maintain a register of volunteers who have at some time agreed that they would be willing to help from time to time. We have historically looked to add new members to the team via both the Trust and WWFC advertising for new members.
- Since the Club has been sold to the current ownership group the way the Trust manages the Volunteer force has not changed. The current owners recognise the contribution they make to the Club and the part they play in keeping that “specialness “that WWFC has as a Club. This has been demonstrated by Dan Rice meeting and thanking personally all the matchday volunteers at the recent game against Lincoln.
- Given the financial strength of the ownership group, could the Club afford to fund the tasks currently carried out by the Volunteers? Without doubt they could.
- However this would be the wrong thing to do because;
- The volunteers carry out their roles because they want to. They really enjoy being part of the Club, giving something back due to their loyalty and love for the Club.
- They are team players and there is a sense of camaraderie and togetherness amongst them. A lot of them have been volunteering for many years and get a lot of satisfaction from what they do.
- Most of them work every week/home game and some just come in for special tasks, such as seat cleaning, but they all do it because they want to.
- We have a number of volunteers who have “special needs” and working with the volunteer team provides them with the sort of interaction with others they would otherwise not get in their lives.
- Overall the Club would also lose part of that “special Wycombe way” if these roles were just carried out by paid stewards/contractors.
Nigel Kingston
WWST Director organising the Volunteers
