Join In Local Leader, Toni-Ann Murphy (17) from Croydon, visited Downing Street this weekend to celebrate and welcome the Queen’s Baton Relay torch to London. She was joined by Prime Minister David Cameron to witness the arrival of the torch carried by Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams and award winning volunteer Molly Pattison, who were selected for their outstanding contribution to sport and services to their communities.

The celebratory event was held for various groups of volunteers, including 20 Join In Local Leaders, Points of Light volunteering award winners, young volunteers from local sports clubs and Glasgow 2014 volunteers Toni-Ann is one of over 250 Local Leaders recruited by Join In to act as advocates for volunteering in their local communities and inspire others to get involved.

Toni-Ann: “It was a truly great experience and it was an honour to attend the event and see the prime minister and Nicola Adams. I got to meet a number of people from various sports organisations and find out how they are continuing the legacy of the Olympics within their communities. It really highlighted just how much sports is needed within the community and how valued volunteers are who help run these sports clubs which enables so many young people to get involved because as we all know the youth is the future and is important to enabled them to thrive and get the most out of their community.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The baton relay gives the whole country and Commonwealth the chance to share in the excitement of the countdown to Glasgow 2014. And as the baton travels through London and the Olympic Park, it is a reminder of the huge capacity these world-class sporting events have to capture people’s imagination and how Glasgow 2014 will build on that legacy.”

Nicola Adams said: “I’m delighted to bear the Queen’s Baton on 8 June in the build up to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. I’m looking forward to being part of such a great event and if selected, to represent Team England in Glasgow this summer.”

The Queens Baton Relay is the traditional precursor to the Commonwealth Games. The baton will travel to all 70 Commonwealth nations, making its journey across England en route to Scotland to mark the start of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Ends Notes to Editors For further information on the event please contact Toni-Ann Murphy at murphytoniann@gmail.com or 07903342102.

For further information on Join In nationally, please contact Jenny Scott on 07970 952656 or jenny.scott@joininuk.org About Join In Join In is the sports volunteering charity created out of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to increase local sports volunteering opportunities and help grow community sport. Its patron is comedian and marathon runner Eddie Izzard. Join In has recently recruited over 250 Local Leaders, a nationwide network of volunteers who will work with sports clubs and physical activity groups to help them recruit and retain volunteers. This will help Join In achieve its aim of putting 100,000 more volunteers into community sport.

Join In is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, government grant and by Official Partner BT. BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. BT was the official communications services partner for London 2012, and is committed to ensuring that the social legacy of the Games continues. Last year, BT people spent 43,600 work days volunteering in the community, providing over £13 million of in-kind support and assistance to the organisations they helped.

As part of the Big Lottery Fund’s ‘Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive’ programme, The Big Lottery Fund awarded Join In £1.5 million in 2013 to deliver the Join In Summer and Go Local event, ensuring London 2012 volunteers and potential new volunteers continued their volunteering journey at local clubs and community projects. Funding has also supported the launch of Join In's Local Leaders programme which in 2014 will see over 250 Local Leaders recruited and trained to act as Join In's ambassadors working at the heart of communities to put more volunteers into sport. Join In is the winner of the Community Programme of the Year, 2014 BT Sport Industry Awards.

For more information about Join In visit www.joininuk.org Based on information supplied by Toni-Ann Murphy.