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The need for Volunteers – our Salford Clubs need your help!

Trevor Rollinson has been involved with Sporting Memories for over seven years and it that time has helped to build and sustain our Clubs in Eccles, Langworthy and Swinton.

Thanks to Trevor’s efforts, alongside colleague Viv, they have been able to develop the three Clubs which have become a staple in the lives of members who attend from across Salford and Manchester.

However, Trevor has recently had to take on the responsibility of organising and running the three sessions across Salford on his own, and whilst he enjoys his role as a session worker for Sporting Memories, he does need further support to help the clubs to be sustainable.

We started our conversation with Trevor by asking what the most rewarding part of his involvement with Sporting Memories in the past seven years has been.

“It gives me enormous satisfaction to be part of the Clubs, which have built a lovely atmosphere over the years,” Trevor began. “It’s always nice hearing people say about their time at the Clubs and how much it means to them. Often, I get members come up and say: ‘I don’t know what I’d do without Sporting Memories’ - so you can see how much they enjoy it and that gives me a great sense of pride as well.

“One thing which sometimes get forgotten is how isolated some of our members can be. This can be the only activity which gets them out of the house and seeing people. And in time, once people come regularly, you get to see the members then socialise outside of the Clubs. Seeing those connections and friendships is something special.”

The Swinton Club has been running for 10 years, prior to Trevor’s involvement with Sporting Memories, with the Eccles and Langworthy Clubs being started by him and Viv seven years ago. However, one additional element has been the Walking Football sessions Trevor launched five years ago following demand from members of all the clubs he supports.

Trevor has also run annual tournaments for the past two years with Iron Mountain in Salford to promote the clubs and Sporting Memories, with a particular aspect of incorporating young and old from the local community bringing great pride to Trevor.

“From the Walking Football perspective, it is nice to see it has evolved from the initial games on a Monday to becoming a multi-generational activity, as we proved during the tournament we have organised over the past couple of years. It was brilliant to get the support of Iron Mountain and to also invite other teams locally to come along and play too.”

We finished with Trevor by asking what he is looking for in a volunteer, who will help support and run the sessions taking place in Eccles and Langworthy every Friday morning, as well as the Monthly Monday session in Swinton.

“I’m looking for someone who would be willing and able to lead the sessions we have across Salford. That does require preparation at times, whether that be creating activities, such as quizzes and conversation topics for meetings.

“It would be great if anyone interested in volunteering would be able to support all the Clubs across Salford. They are all brilliant groups but may need support in some capacity every week.”

If you’re interested in supporting our Salford-based Clubs as a volunteer, please email contact@sportingmemories.uk