The Big Help Out is back and offers an opportunity for Rotary clubs to showcase what they’re all about.

A year ago, to coincide with the Coronation weekend, Rotary Great Britain & Ireland joined a host of other non-profit organisations by supporting the campaign encouraging more people to dive into the world of volunteering.

By promoting the work of Rotary in the community and offering up volunteering opportunities, The Big Help Out showed the way how volunteers make a difference to their communities.

It was the UK’s biggest day of volunteering as more than 7.2 million people took the dive into some form of volunteering.

This year’s event runs from June 7th to 9th to coincide with Volunteers’ Week, and the launch was held at the end of January.

Chief Scout Bear Grylls asked participating organisations at the launch: “We’d love you to be involved every step of the way, mobilising your networks and spreading the word, and thinking about how you can make the most of this June to recruit new volunteers and motivate your current team.”

Figures from last year’s Big Help Out revealed:

• One in three Britons had heard of The Big Help Out.
  
• 35,000 organisations and 2,000 businesses took part in support of the campaign.
  
• 7.2 million people volunteered.
  
• 80% met someone from a different background.
  
• 70% said they were more likely to volunteer in the future.
  

Rotary clubs are being encouraged to focus on the opportunity and momentum of The Big Help Out to organise projects and activities with a volunteer focus that weekend. It doesn’t have to be a new project since The Big Help Out can be used to engage volunteers with existing plans or club projects.

The Big Help Out app will once again be a core part of the campaign allowing clubs and organisations to list activities for volunteers to find and sign up for with an easy-to-use platform. And there will be resources available from the organisers to support Rotary clubs.

For more details, visit: thebighelpout.org.uk