Julie Feeney - Amber Valley Athletics Club
Julie Feeney describes herself as a “Jill of all trades” when it comes to her voluntary role with Amber Valley Athletics Club.
She is a club founder member, secretary, coach, team manager and press officer, and in its nine years has seen the club grow to around 300 members, with more than 800 members passing through its doors in the past nine years.
Her voluntary work has also led on to a paid job as athletics co-ordinator for Amber Valley Borough Council.
Julie’s husband Jim is also a volunteer, acting as vice-chair and coach, and together with more than 30 other volunteers they spend countless hours a week making sure the club is the best that it can be.
Julie said: “My eldest son, who is now 20, was talent spotted at primary school and there was no athletics club in AmberValley at the time, so myself and other parents with help from Amber Valley Borough Council set up the club.
“On an average week I do four or five coaching sessions plus competitions at weekends which will either be Saturday or Sunday or both, and then there are the bits in between such as meetings.
“It does take up a lot of our time but that is our choice.”
She added: “I am just one of over 20 active qualified coaches and then we have about ten officials who turn out for competitions.
“Nobody is paid so the success of the club is down to the people who are very committed to giving up their time.
“Without that we wouldn’t have an active, cohesive club. It’s about lots of people pulling together all with the intent of making the club the best that it can be.”
As well as the pride of a successful club, Julie says there are lots of other benefits to volunteering.
She said: “The club has also given me paid employment and thanks to being in the right place at the right time I work part-time as Amber Valley Borough Council’s Athletics Co-ordinator.
“A couple of other coaches have also gone on to paid coaching, so something like this can lead to other things.
“And there are so many other benefits, like making new friends, and for young people volunteering also looks good on your CV or UCAS form, and for a potential employer helping others is always a tick in the box.
“I’ve had some of the best times of my life in athletics and it’s great when someone does particularly well, like winning a major Championship, and you know it’s partly down to you.
“Volunteering can have a huge impact on others.”
To read more about Amber Valley Athletics Club visit www.avac.org.uk