Just under half of young people say they are struggling to find opportunities to give up their time for good causes.

A survey to promote this year’s launch of the annual Big Help Out volunteering push found that 44% of young people aged between 18 and 24 say they are unable to find volunteering opportunities.

The survey, by agency Walnut, involved more than 2,000 adults and took place earlier this month. Its findings suggest better promotion by charities of opportunities could boost the number of young volunteers. It found that this age group is keen to volunteer, with 37% of young people giving up their time for charities over the last year.

This year’s Big Help Out event takes place from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June at the end of Volunteers Week. The inclusion of a weekday part to the event aims to give school children and employees a greater opportunity to be involved.

The event was first staged last year to mark King Charles III’s coronation. It is backed by dozens of charities including Barnardo’s, Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), Girl Guiding, RNLI and the Trussell Trust as well as sector bodies including NCVO.

“The British public have a strong appetite to volunteer and play their part in their communities,” said RVS chief executive Catherine Johnstone.

She believes Big Help Out "catapults volunteering up peoples to- do lists, gives them a perfect bite-sized opportunity to try locally and with all the appeal of being part of a shared national celebration”.

NCVO chief executive Sarah Vibert added: “We know that encouraging more people to volunteer is a top priority for charities right now. It’s a challenging time for communities across the country and the need for the life changing work that volunteers carry out has rarely been greater.”

Ahead of this June’s event Big Help Out organisers are urging organisations that want to take part, to register their volunteering interest online. Members of the public are also urged to pledge a day of their time to volunteer.

Research revealed last year by NCVO found that a lack of flexibility and suitability of roles are barriers for people to become a volunteer.

A survey earlier this month by the Shaping the Future with Volunteering coalition, whose members include Citizen’s Advice, Girlguiding and RNIB, found that four in five volunteers say giving up their time for good causes improves their wellbeing.

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