Knutsford Hosts is Knutsford's town-wide community volunteering scheme.
The idea for the Hosts came from the London 2012 ‘Gamesmakers’ who received universal praise for the way in which they made the event such a success and the fact that locally, people clamoured to volunteer for the Knutsford leg of the Olympic Torch relay.
These were stand-out examples of community volunteering, which gave Sarah Flannery the idea of seeing if that energy could be harnessed by creating a whole team of trained community volunteers to represent Knutsford and become an invaluable community resource for all kinds of events like the Royal May Day, Christmas Weekend, the Artisan Market, the RHS Tatton flower show, Knutsford Promenades, Knutsford in Bloom bulb-planting and community clear-ups – even the M6 Knutsford services!
“Community volunteering is good for the community and the individuals involved, and can have a big social impact. Usually, though, programmes are organisation-specific. The innovation behind the Knutsford Hosts is that it is town-wide, and attracts people new to volunteering.”
The Pilot
The Knutsford Hosts pilot scheme started in late 2013 when Sarah Flannery developed the concept of a town-wide volunteering scheme based on the success of the London 2012 ‘Gamesmakers’ who received universal praise for the way in which they made the event such a success.
Locally, people clamoured to volunteer for the Knutsford leg of the Olympic Torch relay. These stand-out examples of community volunteering, gave Sarah the idea of seeing if that energy could be harnessed by creating a whole team of trained community volunteers to represent Knutsford and become an invaluable community resource for all kinds of events.
Knutsford Town Council liked the idea and backed an Awards for All bid for funding from The Big Lottery Fund.
Six organisations were involved in the pilot: Knutsford Town Council as the lead, and The Welcome, Knutsford Heritage Centre, Community Spirit, Peaks and Plains and Great Places.
“The support of the Town Council, and their keenness to be actively involved as the lead for the town-wide pilot, has been a wonderful help to get ideas off the ground and develop this collaborative project,” said Sarah Flannery.
Since the successful completion of the pilot scheme, the Knutsford Hosts have gone from strength to strength and work with an increasing number of local charities and organisations.
