We are amongst some of the UK’s best known charities taking part in The Big Help Out – one of the centrepieces of the celebrations planned for the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort.
YHA is hosting a number of self-led and organised volunteering events at our youth hostels on Monday 8th May.
The self-led events, which include litter picking and building bug hostels, are free to join and designed to encourage people of all ages to try volunteering and join the work being undertaken to support their local areas.
There are also a number of organised Big Help Out group events at youth hostels, which include a painting party at YHA Manchester to help make it more disability friendly and cleaning up the River Severn with the YHA Ironbridge Coalport team.
Micro-volunteering litter picking opportunities are available at our hostels throughout England and Wales thanks to the support of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) which has given us a number of its Hills to Oceans (H2O) litter picking kits. The kits are available to reserve and collect at participating hostels.
BMC’s H2O campaign aims to remove as much litter and plastic from our hills, mountains and crags as possible, so it doesn’t end up in our oceans.
Jamie Wakefield, our Senior Volunteering and Youth Programmes Manager, said: “The litter picking and bug hostel kits are a great opportunity for a self-led family activity which introduces children and adults to basic conservation volunteering — something very close to His Majesty The King’s heart.”
In addition to self-led micro volunteering, people can register for a take part in the following organised group volunteering activities on Monday 8th May:
- YHA London Central Litter Clean
- YHA Ironbridge Coalport River Severn Litter Clean
- YHA Manchester Painting Party
- YHA Conwy Litter Clean
- YHA Dartmoor Guided Walk and Litter Clean
We are one of the founding partners of The Big Help Out which is designed to raise awareness of volunteering throughout the UK and provide opportunities for people to experience volunteering and make a difference in their communities.
Volunteers are hugely important to YHA and make a significant contribution through giving their time to help us maintain our network of hostels. Year-round volunteer opportunities with us include residential placements in hostels, gardening, youth work, painting, management of hostels and even virtual volunteering.
We have a long association with the royal family. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of YHA from 1959 until her death last year. We have also long provided accommodation and volunteering opportunities for young people participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
James Blake, our Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to be involved with The Big Help Out. Volunteers are the foundation of YHA and make a significant difference in supporting us in our mission to increase access to the outdoors. Volunteering not only supports charities and the work that they do, it also brings people and communities together but provides young people with vital life skills. The Big Help Out is a wonderful initiative which will leave a tangible legacy following the King’s coronation.”
You can reserve a Bug Hostel Kit or BMC Litter Picking Kit, or book a place on one of our organised Big Help Out events on our website.
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