So far this year, over 4,000 people have signed up to volunteer, and last year we exceeded all previous records with an amazing 16,200 sign-ups. The surge in volunteers that started during the pandemic continues.
In many ways, this is only the tip of the iceberg because there are also thousands of people already volunteering in the organisations that use our service to recruit. Groups run entirely by volunteers, with no paid staff at all, actually posted the most roles on our site last year. This is a huge change: they have grown from the least active to the most prolific users of our service in five years.
Some of these are established local charities, some are emerging groups getting going thanks to shared expertise, and some are really large organisations. Take for example, East London Waterworks, which is campaigning to turn a large disused site into a community owned park: it has over 350 volunteers and no paid staff at all. What all these groups all have in common is that they are run by people who care, and who want to take collective action.
Shared purpose and collective action are a core part of what it means to be human. For sure, people can be stirred into fear and hatred. But this is not our default. In the penultimate episode of Just One Thing - a series exploring ways to increase your health and well-being - the late Michael Mosley talked about how volunteering has been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce chronic inflammation. It is, quite literally, good for your gut.
What is truly fascinating is that the research shows that motivation really matters: for the full benefits to be felt, the volunteering needs to be generous and heart felt, and genuinely done to help others. This strikes me as truly hopeful: the evidence that, deep down, at the level of our gut, we are wired to be collaborative. Whatever else happens in the world, people will still care, and they will want to help.
