Twenty new Trailblazers on board at London 2012

The new recruits to the Trailblazer scheme - London 2012’s office-based pre-Games volunteer programme - will volunteer one day a week at the London 2012 HQ in Canary Wharf.

This second intake of Trailblazers at the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) sees a set of talented individuals taking up a range of support roles that include helping to manage the Olympic Park tour programme; assisting the Branding and Marketing team; and supporting the Editorial Services team to update web content, the image library and film archives. 

41 people have now been through the Trailblazer programme, contributing between them an impressive 4,041 man hours to the London 2012 preparations from mid-January 2009 until the end of August 2009. 

The one-day-a-week scheme offers people a flexible way to contribute to the development of the 2012 Games and enables LOCOG to draw on a wealth of experience in careers as varied as customer services, IT, teaching and event management.  

Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of LOCOG said: ‘Volunteering is an important part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Trailblazer scheme offers an early opportunity to get involved in the preparations by enabling talented people who perhaps have other commitments to put their experience to good use on this project. Everyone can play a part in the 2012 Games as shown by the range of backgrounds of the Trailblazers.’

New Trailblazer Sarah M Salem, a 59-year-old Hackney resident said: ‘I joined LOCOG through the Personal Best programme. Personal Best and Trailblazers have changed my life. The schemes have given me an opportunity to organise groups to visit the Olympic Park and train to be a tour guide. The sky is the limit as far as I am concerned!’

Sarah’s extensive local knowledge and previous volunteer and community experience in Hackney, gained through the Personal Best programme, are a great asset to the Olympic Park Tours team at LOCOG.

New Trailblazer Katie Harvey, a 30-year-old resident from Bayswater said: ‘I am excited to put my Sports Development experience to good use working for the London 2012 Games, the largest sporting event on earth. It is especially exciting as London is my home city. I am looking forward to helping the Volunteering team at LOCOG plan for recruiting up to 70,000 Games-time volunteers.’

New Trailblazer Charlie Miller, a 23-year-old History graduate from Ealing said: ‘Gaining work experience at London 2012 is a great springboard for me at the start of my career. The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will change our country forever and I want to play a part.’

Charlie joins the Public Liaison team at LOCOG to help answer public enquiries.

New Trailblazer Jim House, a 59-year-old retired GP from Horley in Sussex said: ‘I have a great interest in Sports Medicine and having left the NHS, I saw helping at LOCOG as the perfect way to contribute some of my spare time. It is a worthwhile cause and I will gain knowledge and experience.’

Jim who has previously worked as an England Hockey team and tournament doctor and as a Sports Medicine doctor at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, joins the Sport team in an assistant role to LOCOG’s Chief Medical Officer.

 – Ends –
 

Notes to editors

1. People interested in registering their interest for the Games-time volunteer programme that is expected to launch in the summer of 2010, should do so at www.london2012.com/volunteering

2. Personal Best is an exciting pre-employment programme designed to harness the unique motivating force of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to engage workless and socially excluded people with learning and opportunities in the labour market, lift their aspirations and create new life or career choices.

The Programme uses the prospect of becoming a Games-time volunteer in 2012 as an inspiration to attract eligible people to undertake a Level 1 qualification, experience some volunteering and ultimately to move into employment or further training.

Those that take part in the Programme will receive guidance in training for a qualification and support in their volunteering experience, all of which help as 'stepping stones' toward a new work opportunity or further training. Ultimately, the goal of the Programme is to give people new skills and employment opportunities and raise self esteem and self confidence. Find out more at www.lda.gov.uk/personalbest

3. As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has six domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are four domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, Cadbury, Cisco and Deloitte. There are now eleven domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers –Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, Crystal CG, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Holiday Inn, McCann Worldgroup, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Ticketmaster and Trident.