Why is volunteering important?

As well as helping others, volunteering has been shown to improve volunteers' wellbeing too.

It’s human nature to feel good after helping someone out. Volunteering can also help you gain valuable new skills and experiences, and boost your confidence.

If you’re interested in volunteering, here’s how to get started and some volunteering stories to inspire you.

  • An estimated 14.2m people in the UK volunteered through a group, club or organisation in 2021/22.
  • Almost one in five (16%) people report volunteering at least once a month (about 8.3m people in the UK).
  • More than half of the UK population gets involved in informal volunteering – but this is less visible. Informal volunteering can involve things like going shopping, providing childcare or doing housework for free for someone who is not a relative or a friend.

Read the volunteering statistics from NCVO’s UK Civil Society Almanac 2023.

Volunteers’ Week is about recognising all of those who have continued delivering vital work as volunteers over the past 12 months, acknowledging the huge number of first-time volunteers in communities around the country, and also saying thank you to all those who usually volunteer but have not been able to because of the ongoing pandemic.

Volunteers are always working at the heart of every UK community. It is hard to overstate the incredible impact they have made during an incredibly challenging year. The pandemic has rightly raised the profile of volunteering and more people than ever are aware of the immense contribution being made every single day by the amazing volunteers across the UK.

We must ensure this recognition continues. That is why, on this 38th annual Volunteers’ Week and as we celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, it’s time to say: thank you, volunteers!

Sarah Vibert, chief executive at NCVO (the National Council for Voluntary Organisations), which coordinates Volunteers’ Week in England