At Fight for Peace we are lucky to have a wonderful community of young people who are not only dedicated to building positive futures for themselves, but also to showing up to support our aims and goals as an organisation through volunteering endeavours. 

This week, we are shining light on our young volunteers as we celebrate National Volunteers’ Week – a UK wide celebration which marked its 40th year anniversary in 2024. The week aims to recognise the thousands of charities and voluntary organisations which make our society stronger and more connected. 

The epitome of great volunteership is seen regularly at our Fight for Peace home shows which are a chance for everyone to come together and celebrate our up and coming champions as they step into the ring to showcase their skills and technique.  

Our shows are exhilarating and the excitement and support from guests has a tendency to raise the roof! But of course, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make these run seamlessly. 

It’s no easy feat, and last month we welcomed 300 guests into our Academy in North Woolwich for our first ever evening boxing show. Staff and young people came together in solidarity to ensure the show was a roaring success, but the truth is none of it would have been possible without our volunteers.

Young people from across the organisation were allocated roles on the night from ticketing and ensuring a seamless process on the door, to getting athletes ready for the big stage, as well as making sure our special VIP guests had everything they needed on the night.

Our Sports Development Intern, Matilde Montezuma played a key role in the planning and execution of the night, including managing the team of 20 young volunteers.

“I think for those who came to watch the show they got to see how connected we are, that actually it was a whole community event. Having the volunteers dressed in Fight for Peace kit and wearing their volunteer lanyards represented our strong sense of teamwork and it was great to see everyone work together and be proud to represent the organisation,” Matilde reflected.

Events like these really provide a chance for people across all areas of the organisation to come together in solidarity – one of our Five Values that we embody through everything we do. But what about the impact on the young people who support behind the scenes?

“Young people always gain some experience from opportunities like this, depending on which role they are doing. The fact we have some young people who wanted to volunteer but maybe didn’t know other volunteers that well but did it anyway means they’re putting themselves out there to meet and engage with new people. It helps them work on their confidence as well as make friends,” Matilde shared. 

“All of the volunteers showed up and delivered great work. I knew I could rely on them and didn’t have to chase them to do their roles. They showed a lot of responsibility and it’s really amazing to see that in our young people. The show wouldn’t be as great without them.”

“The role each one of them play is actually really crucial so we truly need their support and help throughout the day. I don’t know if they’re aware of that but they made a big impact on us, and on the show. I’m really proud of the outcome, and of them.”

Thank you to all 20 of our young members who gave up their Friday night to support our home boxing show, and who continue to show up to give back to our community. We appreciate you and the value you bring to all of our work. We can’t wait for the next event!

Volunteers’ Week is a UK-wide campaign led in partnership by Volunteer Scotland, NCVO (the National Council for Voluntary Organisations), WCVA (the Wales Council for Voluntary Action) and Volunteer Now in Northern Ireland. It is an annual campaign, which now takes place every year from the first Monday in June.