What running with Tinie Tempah taught us about volunteering: 'It's important to give hope'

I have lost sight of Tinie Tempah. He has run off through the streets of Nottingham. 

People start lining the roads, looking on in bemusement as a group of us run through the city centre on one of the hottest days of the year so far. “Is this a race?” I hear locals ask.

Thankfully not. We were invited to attend a run club hosted by the rapper, something he does occasionally before gigs to bring fans and communities together. And, clearly, Tinie loves running. I run faster than I maybe ever have and I don’t come close to keeping up with the star on this 2.3km dash.

But it feels like he is cheering me on, in a way. One impressive member of Nottingham’s The Movement run club, which helped facilitate this event, runs with an enormous speaker strapped to her back blasting out Tinie Tempah hits like Written in the Stars and Pass Out.

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Beyond getting in a quick workout, we’re in Nottingham for a good cause. While I trail behind Tinie on our run, there are hundreds of people nearby volunteering in the community in exchange for a ticket to see the rapper perform that night.

This is the brainchild of RockCorps, which has hosted 50 gigs like this worldwide since 2003, mobilising more than 250,000 volunteers. Some of the biggest artists on the planet have taken part, including Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Drake, RAYE, Pharrell, Black Eyed Peas and Maroon 5.

There’s no entrance fee to a RockCorps concert, but the only people who can attend are those who have signed up to volunteer for at least four hours in the local area.

“I’ve been working with RockCorps for the best part of 15 years,” Tinie tells me as we walk to the start line of the run. “They’ve got an amazing project going on and we’re repaying the volunteers with the show. We’ve also been hosting these run clubs. We started doing them at the back end of last year, so I thought it would be nice to include that.” 

RockCorps is delivering the event with funding from Experian, alongside a collection of businesses across Nottinghamshire. The run club has little to do with the gig, really, except that they helped organise it at Tinie’s request, but it is a good accompaniment with its focus on fostering togetherness.

Tinie says he feels that volunteering “encourages a sense of community” too.  

“In this day and age, to be able to put your energies together with people you might not have necessarily met for one cause is a pretty amazing thing.”

An incredible 97% of people who have volunteered with RockCorps say they would likely volunteer again, while 77% have reported an increase in confidence and employability skills.

“Our point is we want you to come and try it,” says Stephen Green, founder of RockCorps. “Meet the charity, take the mystery out of volunteering. Discover a muscle you didn’t know you have. It’s like anything – once you discover that muscle, you want to use it again and again.”

RockCorps was founded in the aftermath of 9/11. Green and six friends – with a background in management, entertainment, and social services – realised the power of music to mobilise people.

How did they get global stars like Tinie Tempah on board? “Artists love a project like this,” Green says. “We don’t ask them to do anything that’s out of their norm. Just come and do a gig and, if you do that, hundreds of people will volunteer.”

We head to Community Recording Studio after the run, a 10-minute walk away. It’s a space where young people can learn music, film and video skills, and it gives them access to professional equipment and key industry contacts. They can also play sports and hang out, much like a youth centre.

It is getting a spruce of fresh green paint from RockCorps’ volunteers when we arrive. Others are weeding and sweeping the front and back gardens.

“I love to help out wherever I can,” says 18-year-old Max, who has a paintbrush in his hand.

He says he is a big music fan, and that he is excited for the gig, although he hadn’t heard of Tinie Tempah before deciding to volunteer that day.

The rapper joins in by painting a bench red and sweeping leaves in the backyard.

“I think this community project is amazing,” Tinie says. “We’ve lost a lot of our youth centres in London, and it’s a bit depressing to be honest because that’s kind of where I started out, where I started to build communities and think about making music. The fact you can come in here, make music, participate in sport activities, is game changing.”

Tinie says projects like these have become more important to him now he is a father.

“There’s a lot of people out there who don’t necessarily have the tools or the resources to create opportunities like this for themselves. It’s nice to be able to lean into the community, to come to these places and just kind of discover yourself. 

“As a young person you have so much energy, so many different things running through your mind. Even just seeing how many young people are here today, it’s a beautiful thing, and as a dad it definitely makes it more sentimental.”

It means a lot to the Nottingham community for an event like this to take place here, instead of a larger UK city. Today’s event is the first time RockCorps has been to the Midlands. Ed Attenborough, the high sheriff of Nottingham, joins us on the run before we speak at Community Recording Studio.

“What a great vibe,” he says. “Everyone getting together, doing a run around the city centre, sun shining, what’s not to like? And the volunteering is just amazing. The whole idea of RockCorps – to give and get given – such a great community initiative and gets young people into volunteering. I’m so proud we’ve been able to get RockCorps here in Nottingham.”

RockCorps is especially focused on young people, but volunteers of all ages get involved. 

Jonathan, 50, says: “I’m pretty passionate about music and I didn’t actually even realise that recording studios like this existed for the community. It’s a chance to give a little back for something I’m really passionate about.”

Will he be going to the concert too? “Of course. That’s what we’re all here for. We do four hours and then we all get a ticket and I’m looking forward to celebrating later. I haven’t even met these people before, but later we’ll all be as one. Everyone’s done their bit to get their ticket, and I’ve done it before and the atmosphere is next level.”

RockCorps is promoting access to music in an age where concert ticket prices are spiralling. Tickets to Harry Styles this year will set you back at least £44, if you’re willing to sit at the back of the stadium with just a bird’s eye view, and it’s nearly £150 for a bog-standard standing ticket. The most expensive and ‘VIP’ tickets will set you back hundreds of pounds.

Oasis similarly came under fire last year for tickets costing upwards from £74, with resale tickets often going for more than £1,000. In 1996, when Oasis played their famous Knebworth gig, tickets were just £22.50 for each of the 250,000 fans. 

RockCorps is changing the game. One in three participants attended their first-ever concert through volunteering with RockCorps.

“It’s amazing,” says Iain Corby, a friend of Green’s and regular supporter of RockCorps since its inception. “It’s the same vibe wherever you go. You see people alive. Often they’ve never touched the paint brush in their life. Likewise, you get to the concert, and you’ll see people who’ve never had to find a seat with a row up number and a letter before. 

“Everything’s a new experience, but by the time you finish four hours of painting, you’ll see people make new friends. They get to the concert, and they see their friends again. They often make plans to meet up before they go to the concert. It’s great.”

Before Tinie Tempah can get stuck into helping out with the volunteering, he gets stopped by a few local youngsters keen to chat with him about their own ambitions in music. He promises to listen to their songs.

“It’s important that people who have gone on to pursue their dreams come back every once in a while to these spaces,” he says. “It’s important to give a bit of hope and inspiration and make people’s goals and dreams feel a little bit more attainable. It makes a massive difference. To be bombarded with mixtapes and podcast opportunities, it’s great. For me, it’s just amazing to see the youth thriving and enthusiastic about life.”

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