Kaye Adams and Scottish charities urge nation to volunteer for the Big Help Out

TV personality, BBC Radio Scotland presenter and Loose Women anchor Kaye Adams has encouraged people across Scotland to lend a hand to a worthy cause next month as part of the Big Help Out.

Launched for the first time last year, the Big Help Out is a UK-wide volunteering campaign aimed at encouraging people to give their time to charities and voluntary organisations, especially if they have never volunteered before or if they have had a long break from volunteering.

The campaign mobilised over 7 million people across the whole of the UK last time and hopes to get millions more to help out this year. To help promote the campaign, Kaye visited Beatson Cancer Charity, spending a morning volunteering with the Beatson Café at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.

Kaye is a longstanding Beatson Ambassador and an advocate for the charity’s mission that no one should face cancer alone. Hundreds of organisations are expected to take part across Scotland including the Scottish branches of some of the UK’s best-loved charities.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), the NSPCC, Royal Voluntary Service, Scouts, Sea Cadets and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland are just some of the UK and Scottish charities recruiting volunteers.

As well as well-known organisations, many local and smaller groups will also be using the Big Help Out to attract volunteers, like Borders Pet Rescue. This animal rescue centre will be recruiting volunteers to help tidy up and improve their 10-acre site used to exercise rescue dogs, creating pockets of enrichment for the animals to enhance their experience at the centre, and improve local biodiversity.

Members of the public can find opportunities by using the official Big Help Out app, developed by the UK’s leading volunteering platform provider Do IT and available on smartphones or the web, or by visiting the Volunteer Scotland website.

Kaye Adams said:

“Volunteers are the absolute lifeblood of charities. They’re such a vital part of the whole operation.

“It’s so easy to get involved with the Big Help Out – there’s an app, but probably the best thing to do is to go online and search for ‘the Big Help Out’. There are a wealth of opportunities there to find something that really suits you.”

Alan Stevenson, CEO of Volunteer Scotland, said:

“This year, we’re thrilled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week. This longstanding campaign is a fantastic opportunity to recognise volunteers’ vital contributions across every community in the UK.

“For the first time, we’re excited to include the Big Help Out (BHO) campaign during this week of celebration, giving anyone a chance to try volunteering for the first time or to ‘test drive’ a different type of volunteering.

“We know this three-day event will inspire and make a difference. Organisations and groups across Scotland have already begun sharing their opportunities and events on the BHO app – we encourage all to get involved over the coming weeks.”