The new sponsorship will see a number of additions to the volunteering programme including customer service training, a celebration following the event and goodie bags.

The partnership will also see 50 partners from John Lewis and Waitrose given the opportunity to volunteer at the BT Paralympic World Cup in various roles including competition venue assistants for event services and transport liaisons.

BT Paralympic World Cup spokesperson Mark de St Croix said: "We are delighted to welcome John Lewis Partnership on board as the official sponsor of the BT Paralympic World Cup 2011 volunteering programme.

"Volunteers are crucial to the event's success and it could not take place without their dedicated help and support throughout the competition.

"John Lewis's involvement has added great value to the programme including the addition of a post-event volunteer celebration in the John Lewis Trafford Store."

The BT Paralympic World Cup is the largest annual international multi-sport competition in elite disability sport and this year will take place from May 23-28.

Simon Wardell, the development manager for partners in sport at John Lewis, added: "We are delighted to be able to support the BT Paralympic World Cup and I know that our partners are looking forward to the opportunity to help out at such an exciting event.

"As a business, we are already engaged in lots of activities in the run up to London 2012, whether it be through John Lewis's sponsorship as the official department store provider to London 2012 or through our Partners in Sport programme."

BT is entering its third year as title sponsor, in a sponsorship which runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup.

Manchester has committed for the seventh consecutive year to hosting elite international athletes competing across athletics, swimming and wheelchair basketball.

In addition, boccia and sitting volleyball will be represented for the first time at the event with international matches to be staged during the competition.

Meanwhile the partnership between London 2012 and John Lewis sees the UK based retail chain operate the official London 2012 shops within their Oxford Street branch, while from September 2011 they will also operate the highly anticipated new Stratford shop that overlooks the Olympic Park.

The John Lewis Partnership operates 32 John Lewis shops across the UK and 252 Waitrose supermarkets while the business has an annual turnover of over £7.4 billion ($12.3 billion).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]