Big Help Out volunteering app launches
Melanie May | 21 March 2023 | News
The Big Help Out officially launched yesterday with a volunteering app offering opportunities from 1,500 charities.
The app has been designed to appeal particularly to those new to volunteering or who may have experienced barriers or challenges to doing so in the past. It seeks to give them a quick, clear and easy way to find and select suitable opportunities.
There are thousands of volunteering opportunities available on the app, which is available on AppStore and Google Play. People can use it to find opportunities near them, from the big to the small with the Big Help Out encouraging members of the public to sign up to volunteer on the bank holiday of the Coronation (8 May) or for other opportunities. The opportunities are searchable by postcode, activity and organisation.
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Part of the Coronation celebrations, The Big Help Out campaign was founded by the Shaping the Future with Volunteering Group, which includes some of Britain’s largest volunteer-involving charities and is co-chaired by Scouts and Royal Voluntary Service. The Group is working in partnership with The Together Coalition to deliver The Big Help Out, supported by DCMS and the Royal Households.
The Coronation year is seen as a unique opportunity to capture new interest in volunteering especially among those new to it, and to channel that towards groups and causes that need them after rates of formal volunteering fell during Covid.
More opportunities for volunteering across the summer include Volunteers Week (1-7 June) and Thank You Day (2 July), as well as local or regional initiatives such as the Mayor of London’s Community Weekend in June.
The Big Help Out was first announced in January, by Bear Grylls and charities across the UK.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.