THERE WAS no shortage of volunteers for a ‘thank-you’ picnic at Coventry’s War Memorial Park.
The event was staged by No Ordinary Hospitality Management (NOHM) – which operates the three food outlets at the park – to thank all the EnV volunteers after a packed 12 months helping out at a string of major events in the city.
The volunteer programme was started for the 2012 Olympics to welcome games-goers to the city and has since turned into a movement which has won two Queen’s Awards and helped advise Tokyo ahead of the 2020 Olympics.
The programme, which has organised through community interest company EnV since 2014 and had 1,500 volunteers overall, has supported the UK City of Culture celebrations, Commonwealth Games, International Children’s Games and other events in the last year.
Volunteers were treated to a morning out in the park, complete with a free range of sweet treats from the Sundae Club dessert diner which NOHM opened earlier this summer.
David Boughey, founder and Managing Director of EnV, said: “It has been such a busy year for our city – and we still have a few major events to go.
“The volunteers have played a major part in making these huge events run smoothly and representing their city and county in a positive way.
“They get really well received for the work they do, and it was so kind of No Ordinary Hospitality Management to treat them on a rare day off.
“The sundaes certainly went down really well, and I think a few of them will be back in the future.”
Delivering the UK City of Culture, Commonwealth Games and International Children’s Games needed 41,000 volunteer hours with that number set to rise during upcoming events including MotoFest and the Godiva Festival.
Richard Harrison, managing director of No Ordinary Hospitality Management, said: “The EnV volunteers are a real credit to the city.
“Coventry has been really successful in attracting major events in recent years, but the volunteers bring an added advantage.”
