# 1 in 5 UK adults have volunteered during lockdown

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/06/04/1-in-5-uk-adults-have-volunteered-during-lockdown/
- Published: 2020-06-04T09:00:02+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**10 million UK adults have volunteered during the Covid-19 crisis, with more than
three-quarters (78%) saying they plan to continue their volunteering efforts after
the lockdown.**

Legal & General’s [_Isolation Economy_](https://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/media/17835/lg_isolationeconomy_report2_rbg_final.pdf)
study, conducted by Cebr, found that one in every five UK adults (19%) has volunteered
their time for community-level activities or organisations since the start of the
lockdown on 23 March. This includes nearly a quarter (23%) of furloughed workers,
and represents the equivalent economic value of £357 million a week according to
the report.

67% of volunteers are helping with grocery shopping for others and a quarter (26%)
have collected and delivered medicines or prescriptions. 16% of those donating their
time have volunteered to make calls to people to help combat loneliness. According
to the study, all of this activity is separate to the actions of those people serving
in the formal NHS volunteer programme.

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Age-wise, more than a fifth (22%) of those aged between 35 and 54 have been volunteering,
along with 18% of over-55s. Millennials, while the least likely to volunteer (17%),
gave up the most time – an average of 3.5 hours a week on grocery shopping and 4.4
hours if volunteering in other ways.

Nigel Wilson, CEO at Legal & General said:

> “Being more isolated has made us also more inclusive. Britain’s community spirit
> has doubled down in lockdown, forging an informal army of volunteers who are now
> a key part of our national infrastructure in the crisis. Individuals and families
> have come together and created new ties across communities, cutting across age,
> income and circumstances.
> “We have become a nation of volunteers during the Covid crisis. And – judging 
> by the millions who plan to continue after the lockdown – it is a change that 
> is here to stay.”

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