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<p>Volunteering opportunities organised both nationally and locally have been an integral
part of the community response to COVID-19.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Out of
the various ways that people stepped up to respond to the pandemic, the Talk Together
report Our Chance to Reconnect (March 2020) estimates that 12.4 million people across
the UK volunteered to support their communities (<a href="https://www.britishfuture.org/our-chance-to-reconnect-the-new-talk-together-report/"
target="_blank">Talk/Together: Our Chance to Reconnect</a>, February 2021), with up
to 4.6 million volunteering for the first time. Of these first time volunteers, 75%
say they wish to continue volunteering. With reference to volunteering opportunities
organised nationally, it is worth noting that NHS Volunteer Responders have now completed
more than 1.9 million tasks to support over 171,000 people at risk from Covid-19.
(<a href="https://future.nhs.uk/NHSVolunteerRespondersCOVID/view?objectId=21037008"
target="_blank">NHS Volunteer Responder Success Measures</a> (12 June 2020 - 16 May
2021)</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition to volunteer responses organised
through formal channels locally and nationally, the pandemic saw huge growth in informal
volunteering. The DCMS Community Life Recontact Survey (December 2020) found that
the proportion of the population offering informal help on a regular basis (at least
once a month) increased from 28% to 47% (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-life-covid-19-re-contact-survey-2020-main-report"
target="_blank">DCMS, Community Life COVID-19 Recontact Survey</a>, December 2020).
We saw communities rapidly mobilising to help local people, who were particularly
at risk or hardest hit by the effects of isolation. Pro Bono Economics’ Civil Action
report (December 2020) estimated that over 2.5 million people volunteered with over
4,000 mutual aid groups (<a href="https://www.probonoeconomics.com/civil-action-exploring-civil-societys-potential-in-the-2020s#:~:text=This%20research%20is%20a%20part,Family%20Commission%20on%20Civil%20Society.&text=Civil%20society%20is%20somewhere%20we,better%20country%20and%20better%20world."
target="_blank">Pro Bono Economics, ‘Civil Action: Exploring Civil Societies Potential
in the 2020s’</a>, December 2020), a unique grassroots movement which has seen communities
demonstrate their strength, resourcefulness and adaptability.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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