Being part of something that is bigger than yourself is one of the best ways to boost your confidence and self-esteem. It can also be a lot of fun. Being part of the Gorleston Clifftop Festival team does that and more. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn about your wider community, meet new people and make some wonderful new friends. With this in mind, two of our team recently attended the East Norfolk Sixth Form College Wellbeing and Volunteering Fair. The event was organised by the Futures Team at East Norfolk Sixth Form College as a one stop shop for students to access a wealth of information about wellbeing and local volunteering opportunities.
Students were able to meet and speak personally to Vicky Webber (Gorleston Clifftop Festival Event Manager) and James Sinclair (Children’s Arena Co-ordinator) about the many volunteering activities available with the Gorleston Clifftop Festival. Some of the many opportunities discussed included working long-term with the organising committee right through to just sparing a few hours over the festival weekend itself. Vicky and James took the time to help the students understand that all voluntary support, however small, was welcome and much appreciated. This year’s event will be held on 29th and 30th July 2023 along Gorleston’s stunning clifftop.
Vicky, who has been involved with the event for 12 years, said:
‘The volunteering fair was a fantastic opportunity for us to speak directly to the students. This was naturally to encourage more volunteers to come forward so that future festivals can continue to happen but also to share our experiences of how volunteering has benefitted us.’
James, who has been involved for four years, is a local volunteering advocate having previously run Great Yarmouth Family Fun Day to fundraise for the Batten Disease Family Association charity in memory of his son Dylan. James said:
‘I think it is important to highlight the benefits and opportunities that volunteering can give to young people. Asking students what they were studying and then showing them how that can translate into roles within the festival seemed to give them a different perspective on volunteering’.
The committee are actively looking for many volunteers to get involved in various roles including roles on the organising committee. Roles vary enormously and can include general admin, booking of attractions right down to putting up posters. Enthusiastic help is also needed to set the event up on 28th July and to take everything down on 31st July.
Smooth running over the festival weekend itself (29th and 30th July) also needs more helping hands. Jobs like handing out programmes, facilities management and general stewarding all need to be covered. If you have some spare time (however little) and are able to help the 2023 festival to be the best ever Gorleston Clifftop Festival then please get in touch with the committee via email (gorlestonclifftopfestival@hotmail.co.uk) or message us on our Facebook page – Gorleston Clifftop Festival.
You can also show your support by following, liking, commenting and sharing our Facebook posts on the Gorleston Clifftop Festival page, our Instagram page and our posts on Twitter under @clifftop_fest. It is also never too soon to start using the festival hashtags ….. #clifftopfest23 #gorlestonclifftop23 #gcf23
