The Big Help Out

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.

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.