London 2012: Did it create a volunteering legacy?
Government figures released in 2013 showed the proportion of people who volunteered at least once a year rose from 65% in 2010 to 71% in 2012. Figures from 2021, however, revealed a dramatic decline in volunteering in England compared with 2013/14.
‘Why the London 2012 Olympics had limited impact on volunteering across the UK’
While these figures may suggest the 2012 Olympics didn’t create a lasting impact on volunteering in the UK, it’s important to acknowledge external circumstances… Like the whole COVID-19 pandemic.
It is true that formal volunteering numbers fell by 40% between 2019/20 and 2020/21 alone. In 2019/20, 1.2 billion hours of formal volunteer work was completed, whereas in 2020/21 this reduced to 700 million hours. However, people were still doing all sorts of informal volunteer work – especially during the pandemic. Whether it was delivering food to a neighbour or befriending services, people did their bit to help their communities.
So it may be true that numbers aren’t as high as they were in 2012, but you have to acknowledge that life isn’t the same either. Free time is limited, the cost of living is going up, but the pandemic proved that people will still help where they can.
The article did, however, hit on a great point at the end:
Volunteering has been shown to be a stepping stone to further volunteering, paid opportunities and getting people back into work.
Recruitment needs to be inclusive, people need better training – and crucially, legacy plans need to be funded and attended to.
If we want to see volunteer numbers increase and stay high, we need to ensure opportunities are inclusive, accessible, and provide good training. It’s the least you can do for the people giving their time to you.
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