New Sport England-backed charity offers a £5k salary for Saturday morning ‘PlayLeaders’.
ParkPlay CEO, Rick Jenner says, “It’s never been more important to lead an active life and more and more people understand the wide benefits it can bring. But a great many people, however, aren’t interested in traditional clubs and teams, are turned off by organised sports and don’t want to join a gym, but do enjoy playing and having fun with friends and family – that’s where we come in.
“We offer weekly sessions in local parks, run by local people for local communities. Each session is completely free and includes a whole host of different games and activities, some structured and some a bit more freestyle.
“We’d love to get up and running in more parks across County Durham, but we need more local people with local knowledge and expertise to come forward and join us. We’re in numerous parks already, offering games and fun for free every Saturday morning and there’s no reason we can’t do the same here – we just need local leaders.
Ben Trotter is a Lecturer in Sport at Bishop Auckland College, working and living in Shildon, County Durham. He says; “I heard about ParkPlay through a member of my family, and saw how it would benefit the community in coming together and getting active. I was already involved in the community as captain of Shildon Football Club, so I can run a ParkPlay event on Saturday morning and then play football. It fits perfectly into my routine, it’s no burden and is a great way to earn a little more money.
“I organise our events through Facebook, word of mouth and through my work at the school. I keep things fresh by adapting the activities and games to the group that arrives to take part – I have all sorts of people arriving on the day so we start off with a ‘meet’ to get to know one another, then work into some light movement and then playing various games. People don’t have to commit to coming every single week, which I think helps a lot of people because they know there’s no pressure and the sessions are tailored to each group”
“People are there because they want to be there. kids come down with their grandparents for example and it’s rewarding to see the mix of people – I’ve never seen that anywhere else.. if you’re 8 or 78 you can get involved!”
“The help I receive from ParkPlay’s central team and local kids allows me to get these sessions on and get people meeting, moving and playing, and of course helps the kids get some experience on their CV and help the local community, so I’m really grateful for that help”.
Rick Jenner says, “I’ve visited all our sessions around the country at least once, and our PlayLeaders come from all sorts of backgrounds and what unites them are two things: first, their love of their local community and the people in it; and second a love of play! As adults we sometimes think we’re not allowed to play or think it’s just for kids – rubbish. Playing is good fun whatever age you are.
“What people who become a PlayLeader can expect is that we’ll provide them with some training on how to get their local sessions up and running, provide all the equipment they’ll need and help them recruit people locally, both volunteer helpers and players.
“The success of the group comes from the energy of the local PlayLeader. Fifteen years ago not everyone saw the potential of parkrun, yet today there are thousands taking part week-in week-out in every corner of the country and far beyond. The PlayLeader role offers you the chance to help build the next parkrun and have a big impact on your local community.”
Maxine Rhodes, County Durham Sport’s Managing Director said: “ParkPlay is a fantastic initiative- bringing more fun opportunities for outside play to our communities in County Durham. Using some of our beautiful green spaces to build the skills and values that support physical activity, ParkPlay is fun, free and friendly. It also helps support the work of schools by building the skills, confidence and motivation all children need to value being fit and healthy. Skills that we hope stay with them for life.”.
We’re recruiting. If you’re interested in becoming a PlayLeader in a park in your area, go to go to park-play.com/be-a-playleader/ for more details and to apply or email hello@park-play.org.
The role is paid, part-time and doesn’t require any specific qualifications, just the skills to lead sessions and inspire people to take part.
ParkPlay will respond to all enquiries.
ParkPlay is an entirely equal opportunities employer.
