The Big Help Out returns on 7 to 9 June 2024

This year, the Big Help Out will take place over three days from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 June 2024, at the climax of Volunteers’ Week. Including a weekday for the first time will give schools and workplaces the chance to get involved - and organisers are calling on old and new volunteers to lend a hand to causes that need a bit of help in your local area.

The launch comes as new polling by Walnut finds that nearly one in two 18-24 year olds want to volunteer but are unable to find ways to get involved. That’s why this year’s Big Help Out will have a particular focus on providing those opportunities for young people to get involved.

The Big Help Out is launching with two simple requests:

• Organisations are being invited to register their volunteering opportunities on the new and updated Big Help Out Platform, where millions of current and new volunteers will be recruited to get involved
• And the general public are being invited to save the date and pledge a day of their time to volunteer

Supporting the Big Help Out, His Majesty the King, King Charles III said: 

"I am delighted to support the return of the Big Help Out in 2024. This Summer, between June 7 and June 9, there will be another opportunity to join so many dedicated volunteers in giving time to a worthy cause of their choosing, whether that is supporting a local food bank, tending a community garden, spending time with a vulnerable person or
teaching a skill to young people. Whoever and wherever you are, each of us will have a chance to play a small part in helping transform our communities for the benefit of all.

"This year, the Big Help Out is particularly keen to invite schools and businesses to be a part of this special moment.  Young people’s energy and enthusiasm can be enormously valuable, and business is a vital part of the fabric of both our local communities and of our wider society.

"So, if you are able, I can only encourage you to support the Big Help Out once more, thereby helping to build the kinder, closer communities of which we can all be so proud."

His Majesty the King, King Charles III

"Millions of us from every corner of the country and all walks of life took part in last year’s Big Help Out - and this year it’s going to be even better.

"We will be creating Britain’s biggest ever volunteering opportunity over the whole weekend from Friday 7 June. Tens of thousands of charities, community groups, and clubs will be offering you the chance to try something new in the way you want, where you want. So whether it’s taking a group stargazing in Southampton or helping out at a foodbank in Fife there will be something for everyone."

Astronaut Tim Peake

"Volunteering isn’t just a great way to help your community - it’s good for the volunteer too. Good for our mental health and self-esteem, a great way to meet new people, and the perfect way to expand your own horizons.

"So here is the challenge - save the date, and promise yourself you’ll get involved. I can absolutely assure you it will be one of the most rewarding things you do all year.”

Anneka Rice

The Big Help Out grew from a coalition of thousands of British charities, from national institutions like the Scouts, Royal Voluntary Service and Rotary to the smallest community groups in every part of the country. It’s a day to give everyone the chance to try out volunteering – whatever they are interested in from sports clubs to litter picks to helping their neighbours get through tough times - and feel the benefits that volunteering brings and is supported by organisations from across the sectors from the Church of England, and UK Sport to Microsoft and Asda.

As in 2024, volunteering opportunities – easily searchable by location and interest – will once again be available on The Big Help Out app.

Last year, there were more than 50,000 events across the country as part of the Big Help Out. They Included a huge Scouts taster day at Wembley Stadium, almost 500 people joining a right royal clean up on the Solent, record breaking numbers signing up to support the mental health charity Black Dog, nationwide hedge life surveys, and even a volunteer run dog show in Macclesfield.

Events already planned by businesses, charities, schools and clubs for this year include:

• FareShare and the Felix Project, will be opening their doors and driving volunteers to help tackle hunger in their local communities by volunteering at a local community kitchen or food bank.
• Age UK will be offering a variety of accessible ways to get involved, including virtual Telephone Friendship taster sessions, trial volunteering in charity shops and community-based activities and support for older people in need.
• Thousands of students across the country will be lending a hand with their local school, supported by Votes for Schools, Guide Dogs UK, #IWill and Bookmark Reading.
• Sport England will be encouraging local clubs to open their doors and host taster days.
• Asda community champions will be leading litter picks from hundreds of their stores across the UK as well as supporting their local grass roots and charities with volunteer opportunities

"Recent research has identified the British public have a strong appetite to volunteer and play their part in their communities. They want to get stuck in and just need some of the barriers removed. That’s why The Big Help Out can be a real game-changer. The campaign catapults volunteering up peoples to- do lists, gives them a perfect bite-sized opportunity to try locally and with all the appeal of being part of a shared national celebration."

Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service and co-founder
of The Big Help Out

"Guide Dogs couldn’t function without the skills, passion and experience of our volunteers who support every area of the charity. For every working guide dog partnership you see out and about, there is a team of volunteers to thank for making this happen. Last year The Big Help Out enabled us to grow our community of volunteers from all over the country which means we can support more people with sight loss to live the lives they choose.

"This year we’re so excited to be able to encourage the next generation of volunteers to understand more about the value and benefits of volunteering and enable their schools to get involved with some social action that will hugely benefit charities like Guide Dogs on the 7 June."

Tracey Berridge, Head of Guide Dogs

"We were bowled over by how many people took part in The Big Help Out in 2023 and told us they were inspired to volunteer in the future. In 2024 we will extend to three days to make it easier for schools and businesses to get involved. We also plan to target communities who were less likely to take part in traditional volunteering. This is a hugely exciting opportunity to turn the dial on volunteering."

Matt Hyde OBE, Co-founder and Chair of the BHO Steering Group

"This year, The Big Help Out, is shaping up to be another incredible festival of volunteering. If enough people can pledge to lend a hand on June 7-9, there's no limit to the amount of good that can be done in communities up and down the country. This year we'll have something for everyone, whether it's just you, the family, you're at school or work, we want
everyone to lend a hand and make a difference. Last year, we had millions of people step forward and now you can too."

Jon Knight, CEO of the /together coalition

"Every Volunteers Week we celebrate the vital contribution made by people across the country who give their time to help others. Many of us rely on charities for support or to enhance our lives and communities. This simply wouldn’t be possible without our amazing volunteers.

"As we mark the 40th Volunteers Week we’ll also be encouraging people to get involved in volunteering through the Big Help Out. Volunteers Week is a great time to host the Big Help Out this year - many people will be hearing about the positive impact of volunteering and want to try it out themselves.

"We know that encouraging more people to volunteer is a top priority for charities right now. It’s a challenging time for communities across the country and the need for the life changing work that volunteers carry out has rarely been greater.

"If you’re an organisation that wants to recruit more volunteers, then please get involved in this year’s Big Help Out – it’s a great way to promote your amazing work and the positive impact volunteering makes to local communities. Save the date and get ready for the Big Help Out 2024 on Friday 7 June and Saturday 8 June."

Sarah Vibert, CEO of the NCVO

For further information

Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities with volunteers supporting the NHS, adult social care and thousands of vulnerable people in the community. The charity delivers the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, enabled by the GoodSAM app, with volunteers responding to over 2.5 million requests for help to support approximately 200,000 people, and completing over 363,000 shifts at vaccination sites.

The charity also works in local communities running home libraries, companionship support, home from hospital services and patient transport. Its Virtual Village Hall provides online activities and classes to promote wellbeing and keep people active.