Harriet Whitehead looks at whether the initiative focused on King Charles’ coronation weekend will be as successful for the volunteer community as organisers hope...
Ed Mayo, chief executive at Pilotlight says projects like the Big Help Out are welcome in their own right for the good that they can do, “but with needs so acute across the voluntary sector, it is vital that this doesn’t obscure the need for more radical action to nurture a more participatory and caring society”.
“Do we need more opportunities for volunteering? Or is the challenge a deeper one – that what we really need is long-term support for voluntary organisations, including their enabling infrastructure?
“I do not want in any way to devalue the efforts of those who have been working on this – all in keeping with a long tradition of association of many in the charity sector with royalty. But I would point to the opportunity for workplace volunteering, where employees are not just using their skills but developing them in the process.
“It is not core to the BHO, but the shift to skills-based volunteering may just turn out to be more significant for the charity sector in the long run.”