Volunteer’s Week Spotlight: Rebecca Kirby

Having a Volunteer’s Week is a great initiative to get new people involved in good causes across their community, and we applaud everyone that takes up the challenge. At noviniti we wanted to shine a spotlight on the people we know that do great things with their spare time and ask for nothing in return. One such person is noviniti’s very own Rebecca Kirby

My family have all been involved at Ripon CC for the past few years. It is a fantastic community hub and a great place for kids to come together and play a team sport.

In recent years, the women and girls’ sections have seen rapid growth in players but lacked female coaches, so there was a drive at the club to recruit volunteers to help out. Two years ago I put my hand up and I haven’t looked back.

I went on to complete my ECB Core Coach qualification in 2025, and this year I am managing the U11s group. The work we have done as a club over the past few years has seen current U11 cohort include the most girls the club has ever had, which is a fantastic achievement.

I am passionate about making this sport as accessible as possible for all young people, but particularly for young girls. It is improving, but they still face so many barriers to entry to the sport with many schools still only having boys’ teams, and I believe there are so many benefits to all young people from playing a team sport.

We have also raised the profile of the girls’ section across the region and as a result our girls were invited to be flag bearers at a Yorkshire Women’s match at Headingley while the boys did the same for the men’s team. Watching the children meet and talk to players from both teams was a really special thing to see. It’s those moments that make volunteering worth it. As a bonus, the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy was being exhibited at the ground before the tournament kicks off on June 12th and we were able to have our picture taken with it.

To anyone considering becoming a volunteer I’d say don’t think about it, just get involved! Even giving up just a few hours a week makes a huge difference to those you’re helping, and it’s good for your own mental health too.