“With the Prime Minister confirming that all GPs in England will be able to refer patients experiencing loneliness to community activities and voluntary services, there is a great opportunity for clubs and other grassroots sport and recreation organisations to benefit from a surge of new volunteers.
“The fact that 200,000 older people have gone over a month without speaking with friends or family is a stark reminder that loneliness is a huge social issue within our communities. Our sector is well placed to play its part in bringing all sections of society together. Sports clubs, projects and initiatives operate at the heart of our communities and I’d urge them all to ask themselves if they could do more to be open and welcoming to all sections of their local community.
“7 in 10 clubs have told us they need more volunteers and this is the main reason we have created a new volunteer finder to make it easier for them to advertise what they want and for people to get involved.”
