Sport volunteers celebrated on social media

Volunteers are a crucial part of sporting organisations around the world, all the way from grassroots coaching to volunteers at large international events such as the Olympic Games. Organisations involved in sport and development took to social media on 5 December, to recognise International Volunteer Day.

The International Olympic Committee published a video on YouTube reminding us of the widely praised contribution of volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Insbruck Youth Olympics.

Meanwhile, the Organising Committee for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi took the opportunity to announce the success of their volunteer recruitment drive- so far they've received over 140,000 applications.

On Twitter, a wide range of organisations took the opportunity to mark the day in 140 characters. As Peace and Sport tweeted:

"Happy International Volunteer Day! RT to celebrate! #Volunteer #actorforpeace #Sport"

NOWSPAR Women in Sport took the opportunity to thank its volunteers on Facebook and Twitter, saying:

"Happy Volunteer Day! Volunteers have invaluable role in sport for development. We honor you + thank you all volunteers, volunteer managers + supporters #sportvolunteers"

Magic Bus expressed similar sentiments, also on Facebook:

"Magic Bus would like to take this opportunity to wish all volunteers a happy International Volunteer Day and to say heartfelt thank you for the wonderful and fruitful contribution you all make and bring to our communities, programme and children."

These are just a handful of examples that are representative of the feelings expressed by many on International Volunteer Day. Volunteers form the backbone of a lot of organisations and deserve recognition for their efforts.