Olympics volunteering - good for the volunteer, good for the economy?

madnessofBruno

Already signed up and fact I have been chosen for the opening ceremony
They have asked me to ingite the olympic flame with a petrol bomb.
Its not all good news I need to supply my own balaclava and volunteer studded shell suit.

satchmeister

Lord Coe is a volunteer isn't he? Isn't he? Oh No, he gets paid but wants other to volunteer. How much does he get paid? Probably more than £30k per year. OK at a zero ...

chucknorris

vivatifosi wrote: »

The opportunity for people to act as an Olympics volunteer opens tomorrow. Given how much the economy has changed since we won the right to stage the games, I wondered what everyone's take is on the volunteering aspect.

Volunteers have to give up three days prior to the games for training and 10 days over the period of the Olympics/Paralympics. They may get meals and some transport paid but they won't get accommodation.

Do you think its a good idea to volunteer? Would you do it yourself? Employers, would you find this a helpful thing to have on a work history? If you're unemployed would you bother to apply or would you worry about its impacting on your employment options?

I'm just curious as to whether anyone is considering it and whether any part of their motivation is economic (eg looks good on the CV) or purely altruistic.

Here's the link if anyone is interested in applying:
http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/volunteer/index.php

Personally I would not volunteer, but of course it is very subjective. I do volunteer work for various dog rescue centres because I believe in what they are trying to do and want to help. I don't really see who would be gaining if I volunteered helping out at the olympics, other than keeping the ticket prices down for spectators, because if paid staff were used instead of volunteers the extra cost would end up on the ticket price. Whilst that may be of some merit, I do not think it is a particularly worthy cause to donate my valuable time to.