TO MARK King Charles III coronation thousands of organisations across the country are getting together to help local communities through volunteering projects.
The Big Help Out – epitomising the new monarch’s sense of community – is encouraging people across the country to celebrate the event by engaging in their local areas through volunteering on Monday, May 8, in the hope of inspiring more widespread volunteering schemes.
The project, organised by the Together Coalition and developed and supported by some of the largest voluntary organisations in the nation including the Scouts and the Royal Voluntary Service is open to all organisations and individuals who want to take part.
Raising awareness of volunteering throughout the UK and providing opportunities for people to make a difference through the experience of volunteering in their communities is at the heart of the Big Help Out’s aim.
The Together Coalition is made up of organisations who strive to promote commonality and togetherness to improve social relationships through conversation, policy change and campaigns such as the Big Help Out.
The Royal Voluntary Service’s ‘Shaping the Future with Volunteering’ group has bought together many of the country’s leading volunteer charities to promote a better understanding of volunteering, a more inclusive commitment to volunteering across diverse demographics, tools to allow organisations to value volunteers and encourage partnerships between volunteers and organisations to improve provision.
The Scouts have outlined that around one in five people have never been asked to volunteer, and many do not know where to begin which is why it wants to ‘inspire a new generation and community of volunteers’.
Chief scout and TV personality, Bear Grylls OBE said: “Volunteering has always been a huge part of what makes this country great.
“The Big Help Out will put volunteering centre stage for a day and give people who want to volunteer easy ways to join in.
“So please save the date and join us in your community.”
Scouts CEO, Matt Hyde OBE said: “Scouts are proud to be leading this work with a broad coalition of volunteer-involving charities so we can recruit more volunteers to help others, learn new skills and to have a bit of fun along the way.”
Over the last decade, since the Community Life Survey began, data has shown volunteer numbers to be in steady decline in England with 16 per cent of people surveyed taking part in formal volunteering in 2021/22, down from 23 percent in 2019/20 and down from 27 percent in 2013/14.
But with so many high profile organisations, such as the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the National Trust, the Royal Voluntary Service and Citizens Advice, along with smaller community groups in villages, towns and cities across the UK, the Big Help Out certainly has the possibility to reach millions of people across England fulfilling the Scouts’ aspirations of inspiring a new generation and community of volunteers.
The campaign is summed up well by one of its slogans – Join in. Lend a hand. Make a change.
To register visit: thebighelpout.org.uk/join-in/ and access the Big Help Out app.
