The Swansea City “Here to Help” volunteers are the official match day group of Swans supporters who can be seen around the stadium in the lead up to all our home games. They assist home and away supporters with any questions they may have to help ensure their visit to the stadium is as enjoyable as possible.
All volunteers are fully authorised by the Swans Trust and Swansea City AFC and their role is to represent the club in a positive light at all times.
The initiative was re-launched last year after a couple of seasons break and we now have an amazing group of volunteers which we’d like to expand still further to help meet the anticipated needs of the coming season.
The project was originally set up by the club through Catherine Thomas, Head of Hospitality, Events & Fan Engagement at Swansea City AFC. They continue to manage it today and is fully supported by the Swans Trust who help find more volunteers as and when required by the club.
Anyone aged 18 or over can volunteer to join the group of Here to Help volunteers for 2023-24 and all you need to do is complete and sign a Club Self Declaration Form 23-24 and then return it either by email to info@swanstrust.co.uk or by post to Swansea City Supporters’ Trust, Stadium, Swansea, SA1 2FA.
All Here to Help volunteers will be provided with an induction and safety briefing session, basic instructions on the main subject areas they are expected to cover, issued with an official club pass and a “Here to Help” high-vis tabard.
All volunteers will be expected to be ready for duty not less than 1.5 hours before kick-off and can go off duty 10 minutes before the game to allow them time to go to their seat. A match day ticket will also be provided to watch the game after you go off duty.
Here to Help volunteers will also be offered free Swans Trust membership for 2023/24 which allows them entry to our regular member prize draws for club merchandise and be kept regularly updated of all other Trust and club related news and activities. The Trust and the club will also reward our regular Here to Help volunteers with other offers as the season progresses.
One of the regular Here to Help volunteers from last season called Mat has provided a summary of some of what is entailed on a typical match day…
“Hi there fellow Swans! I’m Mat and you may have seen me on match day for home games at the Swansea.com (aka Liberty!) stadium. I was one of those regularly wearing the red “Here to Help” tabards walking and talking to supporters between the Ivor Allchurch statue at the South/Family Stand end, and the away fans section at the North Stand end.
My role has been to actively engage with supporters to make sure they are going in the right direction, to the right place, and to give them any information to help them have a great day. At least until the game starts! I get there 90 minutes before kick-off and go in to the ground just before the game begins.
I am there to support both home and away fans with any questions they might have about for example where to get their tickets, which turnstiles to use, the nearest bookies, best place for a decent pint, buses into town after the game, way out to the motorway, best local chippie (clue: it begins with an ‘R’!), club shop hours, and why is there no paper programme? It is a role that is for people who love football, like to help, and enjoy talking to people. Me in a nutshell!
I also get to give out small gifts from the club & Trust such as Swans keyrings and badges to any kids going to their first game, as well as directing parents of young children to any special events in the Family Stand. The faces on those children when you give them a free Swans badge has been one of my absolute favourite things ever. Plus, I like to think that they are now Swans fans forever.
The best away fans for me this season were Coventry City. Chatty and friendly with a reasonable view on the likely result. Good game too, despite it being a 0–0 draw. It marked our continued league resurgence at that time against a very decent side.
I really enjoyed discussing the Championship, football generally, and the sad loss of printed programmes with them.
My best personal moment of the season was to be pitch side as the players game out for the home game against Cardiff. Oh, and then soundly beating them of course!
Anyway, I have loved every minute of my volunteer role with the Swans Trust this season, and I would only ask for more volunteers to come and work with me, or in other volunteer roles with the club.
The two people at the Swans in charge of us Here to Help volunteers last season were Cath Thomas and Rob Fowden. They are genuinely the nicest people and make you feel of real value to the club.
Volunteering for the club and the Trust has made me feel much more directly involved with the Swans and a proper part of the whole thing. Come and join me next season!”
If you too would like to get involved or learn more just get in touch with us at info@swanstrust.co.uk and we will come back to you.
Alternatively, you can visit us at our Trust Pod (next to the club shop) before any home game where we’d be happy to provide you with more information and a Self-Declaration Form to complete.
Swansea City Supporters’ Trust
19th July 2023
