My Volunteer Story – Waterford GAA

‘MY VOLUNTEER STORY’ – HELP YOUR GAA CLUB AND COMMUNITY IN 2025

Thank you for taking the first step on the road to becoming a volunteer in your local GAA club and writing your own volunteer story for 2025 and beyond.

Volunteers are involved in all aspects of Irish society supporting areas such as health, education, culture, social services, the environment and the arts.

Volunteers are a vital resource when running a GAA club or indeed any community group. It is estimated that about 1 million people in Ireland volunteer for different organisations and community groups each year.

Why should I volunteer?

People from all walks of life and backgrounds volunteer for their GAA club and they do so for a variety of different reasons. Everyone has a different story to tell in terms of their volunteerism. One thing that they all have in common is that they all see the great benefits of volunteering. These include:

• Giving something back to your GAA club and community
• Gaining new skills and enhancing existing skills
• Meeting new people with similar interests
• Gaining valuable experience – often with a view to gaining employment
• Feeling connected to your club and community
• Making a difference in someone’s life
• Having fun with like-minded people

What kind of volunteering can I do in my local GAA club?

The short answer is anything! There really is a volunteering opportunity to suit everyone’s time and interests. Just a few examples of areas within a GAA club that often require volunteers include:

• Coaching club teams
• Helping at club nursery
• First aid
• Tea and coffees for matches and club nursery
• Club administration
• Groundskeeping and maintenance
• Running social initiatives for the club
• Finance and fundraising
• Public relations and social media
• Cultural initiatives
• Primary Schools coaching

The above list is not exhaustive but contains just an example of some of the more popular types of volunteering.

Is there anything I should consider before volunteering for my local GAA club?

Volunteering is a really enjoyable and satisfying experience and there are a number of things you should consider before volunteering.

Interests
is there anything that I am particularly interested in or passionate about? Volunteering is so much more rewarding when you are working in something you have a real passion for. Foe example, if you have an interest in working with children, coaching at a GAA club nursery can be a great way to build up your experience (and have fun whilst doing it!) You should volunteer for something you care about, not something you feel others expect you to do.

Time
How much time can I set aside to volunteer? Most GAA clubs do not require volunteers to commit a huge amount of time each week/month. Committing to 3-4 hours per month averaging at an hour a week would be a massive help to the club.

Length of commitment
G.A.A. clubs are very flexible and will not expect a huge long-term commitment from new volunteers. Whatever you feel you can commit to the club will be hugely appreciated. You should think about how much time you can really commit before you volunteer. There are a wide range of roles out there to suit your availability, including those that require a shorter time commitment such as specific projects in a GAA club that might only run for a few weeks.

Skills
what skills do I have that might benefit others in a GAA club? Are there any new skills I’d like to develop? This will help you choose a role that will benefit both you and the club.

Okay I want to start my volunteer story with my local GAA club. Who do I contact?

Once you’ve decided that you’d like to volunteer for your local club the next question is – how do I go about it? Luckily it is very straight forward to get involved and there are very easy ways you can find a volunteering opportunity to suit you.

If you speak to a member of your local GAA Club committee or indeed any club member, they will be able to steer you in the right direction and give you a contact person to speak to for more information.

Alternatively, you can contact your local GAA Games Development Coordinator (GDC) who will be able to help you. The GDC’s are full time staff members of the GAA who work closely with every GAA club in the county. They should be able to give you some help and advice as well as providing you with a contact name and number for someone in your local club. Their contact details are here:

Barry Dunne
West Waterford GDC
087-6953648
barry.dunne.gda.waterford@gaa.ie

Conor Prendergast
Dungarvan/North West GDC
087-1247025
conor.prendergast.gdc.waterford@gaa.ie

James Lacey
Mid County GDC
087-6767930
james.lacey.gdc.waterford@gaa.ie

Gavin Whelan
Rural East GDC
087-7918018
gavin.whelan.gda.waterford@gaa.ie

David Robinson
Waterford City GDC
086-2384950
david.robinson.gdc.waterford@gaa.ie

Austin Gleeson
Urban Officer
085-8339328
austin.gleeson.gdc.waterford@gaa.ie

I am a committee member of a GAA club and want to encourage volunteerism in my club. What can I do?

First off thank you for the work you do for your club, it is much appreciated. There are lots of ways you can encourage and promote volunteerism in your club. Here are 10 of them.

1) Ask Suitable People! – The first thing you can do if you wish to attract volunteers to the club is ask them to get involved. It helps to approach people who you think might be suitable for a specific role. It is often a case that people want to help out but they need to be asked directly in a polite and supportive way to do so.

2) Think Outside The Box as to Who You Approach – Volunteers in your club do not have to be lifelong GAA players or members. Some of the best volunteers in clubs across Waterford are people who never played the game or who have only a loose connection to GAA. Some of these people volunteer because their skill set means they bring value to a club or they want to help out in their local community. Try to ensure you are approaching lots of different people from different backgrounds and don’t just approach people that are already members of the GAA club.

3) Run a Club Volunteer Open Night/Morning – These are a great opportunity to invite new people into the club or get people who previously were volunteers to consider returning to the club in that capacity.

4) Set Up a Club Volunteer Recruitment Committee – Setting up a recruitment committee whose role it is to recruit new volunteers and members is a great way of driving volunteerism. The committee should identify all the tasks within the club and group them under different headings/roles. Then give responsibility for the different headings to someone from the committee who must source people for their area.

5) Appoint a Club Volunteer Coordinator – A club can appoint a volunteer coordinator whose role it is to lead the volunteer recruitment effort in the club. This person could be the point of contact for any new people looking for information and could also chair the volunteer recruitment committee.

6) Communicate with All Existing Club Members – An email, WhatsApp, text or best of all phone call to existing club members might be the catalyst to attract additional people who are not currently involved.

7) Approach Retired Persons or Retiring Players – Each year, a number of players retire, or coaches whose children have moved through the club, come to the end of their involvement. Without a focused effort to keep these people involved, they can drift away. Retired persons may have free time ont heir hands and may still wish to remain active and engaged with their local community. This can be a great way for them to stay active, meet people and help their local club and community.

8) Ensure Your Club Provides Free Upskilling and Training – A big part of attracting volunteers is ensuring that they receive the support and training they need to perform the role they are being asked to perform. To aid this, clubs should ensure as much as possible that the cost of training is being covered by the club themselves. The small cost of covering the training will be paid back by many multiples if you keep the volunteer returning in the years to come. Déise Óg and Waterford GAA provide numerous coach education and officer training courses throughout the year to upskill and train coaches, club administrators and other roles within a GAA club.

9) Run a Club Volunteer Social Media Campaign – Clubs can use their Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram pages to promote volunteerism and ask for new people to get involved. Many clubs across Waterford have hundreds of followers and supporters on their social media accounts. Design an attractive poster with all the information that a new volunteer might need to get involved and promote it heavily.

10) Print a Volunteer Information Leaflet and Organise Leaflet Drops – It’s a good idea to get a volunteer information leaflet printed and then these can be distributed at events locally. This allows you to target certain groups also – for instance if you wanted to recruit more Nursery coaches you could give leaflets to be handed out to parents in the local pre-school and primary school.

Right that’s it I’m getting involved and writing my volunteer story for 2025. Is there anything else I need to know?

Remember to enjoy yourself! Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience but can also be hard work. Choose your role carefully to ensure it’s something that
you will enjoy. It may take time to find the right role but don’t give up – it’s worth waiting for something that’s right for you. Be aware that some roles require Garda vetting, Safeguarding and/or training which you may need to complete before starting. Your club will support you in your journey as much as possible.

We will be updating this page with further information around the ‘My Volunteer Story’ initiative over the coming weeks so please be sure to check in regularly.

The very best of luck to you as you write your volunteer story – it will hopefully be an enjoyable and satisfying experience.