The Cycling UK Scotland Committee needs you

By Claire Hutchison

Wednesday, 18 September 2019

The Cycling UK Scotland committee is a local group with a difference. Rather than leading local rides and campaigning on local issues, the committee focuses on bigger campaigns and consultations happening across Scotland. The committee also supports Cycling UK Head of Development in Scotland, Suzanne Forup, and her team to do the fantastic work they do for Cycling UK in Scotland. Cycling UK Scotland Committee Member Barbara Kerr explains what the committee does and how it needs volunteers to help.

I joined the Cycling UK Scotland committee at an AGM back in 2016 and, since then, have had an interesting insight into the organisation.

I have had the opportunity to contribute to consultations, feed ideas into planning the AGMs and contribute to the Scotland Strategy.

As a committee member, I have also attended events and working groups relating to active travel and national road or travel projects, although unfortunately my working life prevents me from taking up most of these opportunities. Some of the other members are able to get to these meetings.

About a year and a half ago, one of the things Suzanne told us she was having trouble with was the ability for her or her team to attend all of the events they were notified of - particularly smaller localised events spread across the country. This wasn't due to a lack of desire to support these events - far from it. But they are a small team stretched to capacity with the projects they are already delivering.

We discussed this problem as a committee and decided this was something we could help with. The idea of developing a register of volunteers specifically for these types of events was born.

I have been working with Suzanne and the Cycling UK national volunteer team based in Guildford to develop an application process and a way for events to be reported to us. This system is now live and we would love to hear from anyone interested in helping out.

Barbara Kerr, Cycling UK Scotland Committee Member

I have been working with Suzanne and the Cycling UK national volunteer team based in Guildford to develop an application process and a way for events to be reported to us. This system is now live and we would love to hear from anyone interested in helping out.

Two ways to help

Tell us about events happening near you

Big, small, specifically cycling related or generally community based. We're talking sports days, gala days, fairs, fetes, and markets, or anything else you think it would be good to have a presence at. This is a chance for local Cycling UK members and non-members alike to tell us where you want us to be locally to you - whether or not you are a registered volunteer and regardless of whether you plan to attend the event yourself.

Once we have the event on our radar, we can assess whether it is something that it would be useful for Cycling UK to be present at or support, and if so we can put a call out across the registered volunteer network for people to attend on our behalf. The duties could range from raising awareness of Cycling UK activities by handing out leaflets and talking to people about the work we do for an hour or two, to manning a stall for part or all of the event, or marshalling or fundraising.

When you register interest as a volunteer, there is no commitment - you will be given an induction and then notified when and where events are happening and what we require volunteers for at that event. If you are interested and available, you let us know and, if not, you don't need to do anything. For any event you sign up for, you will be given a full briefing for that event in advance.

Depending on the event you may be working with other volunteers, or with paid Cycling UK staff, but we will always try and make it a fun, rewarding experience for you too.

If you want to discuss this in more detail or ask for further information, please email Barbara Kerr at scotland-event-vol@cyclinguk.org