LOCAL hero Christian Malcolm was at Newport Harriers' training session at Spytty Park last night to support the Join In campaign to encourage people to volunteer in their local communities.

Running over the anniversary period of last summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games, (July 27 to September 9) the Join In Summer 2013 campaign aims to bring the legacy to your doorstep with more than 10,000 local events being put on in clubs and community groups up and down the UK.

As sports clubs and community groups throw open their doors across the UK to attract new volunteers, supporters and members, local sporting hero Malcolm visited Newport Harriers Athletic Club to thank the volunteers for giving up their spare time to keep the Games Makers’ spirit alive and contribute to the sporting legacy of London 2012.

The Newport-born 200m sprint star said: “It’s amazing to be here in my home town for this Join In event at Newport Harriers Athletics Club.

"Local clubs like this enable aspiring athletes to participate in sport and that means so much to me.

"Without the volunteers at clubs like this, I wouldn’t have achieved all I have in my career. Sports clubs and community projects up and down the country are in desperate need of support to stay open and running, so it’s great to see so many inspiring volunteers here in Newport.”

Darryn McAtee, chair of Newport Harriers said: “It is a privilege for everyone at Newport Harriers Athletics Club to have Christian Malcolm at the club.

"Christian regularly gives up his time to help with coaching here and we are really grateful to him for giving up his time and expertise to help Newport Harriers Athletics Club.

"Events like this really do bring the community together but they wouldn’t be possible without the volunteers who give their time to the club.

"Since last year’s London Olympics and Paralympics the club has grown significantly. Hopefully today’s event has encouraged more people to give up some of their spare time to worthwhile causes like this in Newport.”

Join In research shows that 7 out of 10 clubs still require more volunteers to meet the surge in demand for participation created by the Games. Frustratingly people simply don’t know where to go to find information about opportunities to help out in their local communities and so throughout the summer Join In is playing matchmaker between local clubs and community groups and potential volunteers.

As well as the event at Newport Harriers Athletic Club, 114 other Join In events are taking place in Newport over the course of the summer. For more information on all of these events, and to find out how to get involved, visit the Join In website: www.joininuk.org