Get involved with The Big Help Out!
We know how important volunteers are to your organisations. The Big Help Out exists to help you recruit new volunteers! On this page we’ve included a few ideas for how you could get involved. The list is not exhaustive, so please be creative and let us know how you get on!
Are you a school or a teacher?
This year, The Big Help Out begins on Friday, June 7th, so schools across the UK can all lend a hand! We ask that you use the Big Help Out to educate and engage your students in volunteering. We have dedicated school resources for you here
Host a volunteering taster session
Host a taster session for local people who are interested in learning more about what you do, and how they could get involved. Post it on the Big Help Out App or your usual communication channels.
Our Partner Pack (also available in Welsh) is a great resource for all the information you might need to start planning
Use the Big Help Out platform
The Big Help Out App is a great way to get your organisation in front of new volunteers! You simply have to register by making an account and start uploading your opportunities.
If you are using this as your main recruitment tool, make sure you invite your membership to download the app and sign up for the opportunities too!
Maximise your usual volunteer recruitment methods
The app is just one way to recruit volunteers, there’s plenty of ways to activate your networks. You could:
- Upload opportunities to your own website
- Create a Facebook event, invite your followers, and share the event with any local groups
- Use word of mouth, asking your volunteers, friends, family and networks to spread the word
Our Partner Pack (also available in Welsh) is a great resource for all the information you might need to start planning.
Promote across digital channels
Use social media or your newsletters to shout about The Big Help Out. Build it into your regular messaging and explain why volunteering is so important and how it benefits your organisation. Tag us #TheBigHelpOut, so we can cross promote it!
Get Printing!
Why not design and print off a poster with your Big Help Out volunteering opportunities and stick in pride of place, in any local stores, offices and other places that welcome advertisements. Use any of the Big Help Out editable resources you can amend or print out as
it is.
Feel free to use our logo and branding to print other suitable merchandise to help reach out to your target audience.
Organisation FAQs
No, you don’t need to host an event! While events are brilliant to give volunteers a great experience working with your voluntary organisation and getting to know your mission, that’s not all you can do! We highly recommend taster sessions, real-time volunteering and/or any other engaging ideas.
Yes, when you select ‘Big Help Out Platform’ on our website, you will be able to sign into your existing account (or create a new account)
The Big Help Out Platform is our advertising, recruitment and management tool you as an organisation can use to upload volunteering opportunities and find new volunteers as part of the campaign. The Big Help Out Platform is available to organisations via the web on desktops/laptops, by selecting ‘Big Help Out Platform’ on our website.
The Big Help Out Platform for the public to use is available on Apple, Android and the Web.
We have made lots of improvements to the BHO Platform, volunteers will be able to download the new version from their app store, using the ‘Download the App!’ link on our website, or, if logging into the older version, they will be asked to download the latest version.
Yes absolutely! You can use the ‘bulk upload self serve’ available within the BHO Platform itself. This will allow you to upload a large number of opportunities at once, whether they are at particular locations, or across region(s)/ nation(s).
Detailed support guides for each option are available, also within the BHO Platform (select ‘?’ on the top right of the screen). Should you require some support with the bulk upload, please contact hello@doit.life
The BHO ’24 App and the BHO Business App are both dedicated to our campaign, with the BHO ‘24 app for the members of the public, and the BHO Business App (soon to be launched) dedicated to opportunities for corporates and businesses for employee volunteering.
DoIt is the Big Help Out platform provider, who offer a year round platform, therefore, there is the option for you to publish your volunteering opportunities on their Do Volunteer platform.
You can access the BHO Platform Support pages HERE, or directly within the BHO Platform by selecting the ‘?’ in the top right of your screen.
You can email hello@doit.life and you will be able to find detailed BHO Support documents and a troubleshooting guide HERE, or directly within the BHO Platform.
All our assets are developed in English but we do have Welsh translations available for our key branded items on our dedicated Welsh page. Please reach out to us on thebighelpout@together.org.uk should you have any questions.
The Big Help Out platform team is working on a number of system integrations. We advise you email hello@doit.life to find out whether the system you are using is part of this work.
Yes, we will soon release a BHO Business App where you will be able to upload specific volunteering opportunities for ‘employee volunteering’. Once available, you will need to accept an invite to join the BHO Business App (more info to follow very soon!)
