Skip to main content

Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

The Big Help Out

How we got involved with The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May 2023

The Big Help Out was a national day of volunteering happening on 8 May, the Bank Holiday Monday of the Coronation weekend.

The day was about inspiring people to try volunteering for the first time, and helped us recruit more volunteers into the movement.

Developed by Scouts and the Royal Voluntary Service, and organised by the Together Coalition, we wanted to inspire a new generation of community volunteering. Dozens of charities took part and used the day to encourage people to ‘Lend a Hand; make a change.’

One of the key aims was to make volunteering easy and accessible. Around 1 in 5 people have never been asked to volunteer, and many don’t know where to begin.

Watch the video of our best bits from the Coronation and Big Help Out.

To watch in full screen, double click the video

If you weren't able to offer your time but you'd like to be involved, you can make a donation

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.

Bear Grylls OBE, Chief Scout


Pop-up activities and local recruitment

We supported Scouts to create opportunities to volunteer in local communities around the UK on Monday 8 May.

As part of the plan, we encouraged local Scouts to create pop-up activities in public spaces like town centres and parks – offering activities such as grass sledging, giant Jenga and traditional bushcraft.

Families were able to try activities and think about taking the next step to joining Scouts and volunteering themselves.

Powering our communities

The Big Help Out was one of the centrepieces of the celebrations for the Coronation of HM The King and HM The Queen Consort in May.

We hope it'll leave a lasting legacy of kindness from the historic weekend.

The Big Follow Up

Keep the momentum going and convert that enthusiasm and initial interest into a longer term commitment.

Read our top 10 tips >
Tips for volunteer recruitment

Discover our top tips for using The Big Help Out to recruit new volunteers.

Check out our recruitment tips >
Volunteering with Scouts

Interested in volunteering with Scouts? Giving back can improve your wellbeing and help young people gain skills for life.

Learn more about volunteering >
The Coronation of HM The King

Discover how we celebrated the Coronation of The King.

Celebrating the Coronation >