Volunteering’s not just about giving back – it goes both ways. It improves your wellbeing, gives you skills for the future, and helps you make new friends (and memories).
All our activities are run by volunteers, who join us because they want to:
All of our volunteers end up making a huge difference to young people’s lives – gifting them with skills for life, and learning a whole lot about themselves along the way.
We rely on people like you playing their part to give young people the opportunities they need. But volunteering’s not just about giving something back. It’s also about doing something that’s good for you. Volunteering gives you career-boosting skills, improves your wellbeing, and helps you make connections with friends, family and your local community.
84% of UK adults believe Scouts helps you develop skills useful in later life (YouGov 2020)
The most common benefits volunteers report are enjoyment, a sense of personal achievement and feeling that they make a difference (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
Over three-quarters of volunteers (77%) agree it improves their mental health and wellbeing. (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
Scouts spend on average 1.1 more days a week being physically active (Scouts Experience Survey 2020)
People who’ve volunteered in the past year were more satisfied with their lives and rated their overall health as better. (Journal of Happiness Studies 2020)
Over two-thirds (68%) of volunteers agree it helps them feel less isolated – this is even higher among younger volunteers (77%) for those aged 18–24 and 76% for those aged 25–34). (Time Well Spent Survey NCVO 2019)
Researchers found that participants ages 16-24 and 55-74 were especially likely to benefit from volunteering, perhaps because of the opportunity to build social connections. (Journal of Happiness 2020)