Community Games Commends Black Country Volunteers for Keeping the London 2012 Spark Alive

With the second anniversary of London 2012 approaching, Community Games is showing the Olympic legacy lives on this summer by celebrating the volunteers and community ambassadors it inspired.

Community Games are back in 2014 with sports and cultural activities happening across the West Midlands over the coming months. In addition to some great sport and cultural events, the programme will also be honouring some standout volunteers whose hard work has been keeping the London 2012 Olympic spirit alive in our local communities.

Community Games is showing the irrepressible community buzz of London 2012 still lives on this summer in the Black Country through a whole range of events.  If you have an event planned you can register your event here.

And none of this would be possible without the enthusiasm and energy of the local volunteers who make these sports and cultural events happen.

Back in 2012, the Olympic and Paralympic Games paid tribute to torchbearers across the country. One year later, Community Games mirrored this spirit by recreating the 70-day torch relay and each day crowned standout Community Games volunteers as Shining Lights at every location on the trail. This culminated in Lord Coe being named as the 70th Shining Light at the Copper Box Arena on the one year anniversary of London 2012.  The crowning of shining lights across the Country will be taking place again this year. 

Lord Coe says:

"Games Makers had an important role in the success of London 2012. In fact volunteers have been integral to the success of the Olympic Games since they were first used in 1948. The Community Games Shining Lights bring this Olympic and Paralympic ethos into our everyday lives by organising great activities for our families, friends and neighbours to enjoy, whilst simultaneously encouraging them to be more active. These volunteers truly deserve this recognition.”

Community Games is an Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy programme funded by the Social Action Fund and delivered by the County Sports Partnership Network (CSPN) and the YMCA. Both organisations share Lord Coe’s value of volunteering and the difference they make in communities.

Denise Hatton, chief executive of the YMCA says:

"Volunteering is vital to everything we do at YMCA. We rely on the enthusiasm and generosity of people in our communities to drive our initiatives and achieve great things for young people, so we value and have huge respect for volunteers. That’s why we support Community Games with so much energy and why I’m personally so delighted to see those donating their time and skills to community activities getting the recognition they deserve again this year through the Shining Light initiative.”

Lee Mason, chief executive of the County Sports Partnership Network (CSPN) says:

"Ask a crowd of people who their sporting heroes are and you’re guaranteed to hear the names Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis. London 2012 had a huge impact on our perception of sport, from the athletes we admire to encouraging us to participate ourselves - the legacy is still going strong two years on thanks to the volunteers keeping the Olympic spark alive through Community Games. The aim of the Shining Lights initiative is to celebrate these unsung heroes and recognise the contribution they make to community life.”

This year is the 30th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week (1st to 7th June 2014) and Community Games is joining in the celebrations this summer by honouring the Shining Lights keeping the spark of London 2012 alive in communities across the UK. For more information on Community Games visit www.communitygames.org.uk.