UK volunteering increase during lockdown
Ten million UK adults have been volunteering in their community during coronavirus, and most say they will continue after the lockdown ends, according to new research.
Research shows Britons have been extending a financial helping hand to local businesses. More than £1bn was spent on services and goods that people knew they would never be able to use during the pandemic, including payments to home cleaners and gardeners.
Millions of UK citizens have been serving as an informal “volunteering army”, whether it is helping with grocery shopping for others, picking up prescriptions, ringing up people living alone, or helping out at a local food bank.
According to the research from insurer Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, one in five UK adults has volunteered their time for community activities since the start of the lockdown on 23 March.
With each individual contributing, the work of volunteering is estimated to have an equivalent economic value of more than £350m a week.
Nigel Wilson, Legal & General’s chief executive, said: "We have become a nation of volunteers during the Covid-19 crisis. And – judging by the millions who plan to continue after the lockdown – it is a change that is here to stay."
Source: The Guardian
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