Too busy to change the world? Think again.

Last Friday marked the start of Volunteers' Week, a campaign that has been running every year since 1984. It's an opportunity to recognise the unpaid heroes in our local communities, but hopefully also an opportunity to get inspired and start volunteering yourself!

Although volunteering helps develop key leadership skills, from talking to other business people, one of the biggest barriers to volunteering is the perception of how much time it requires. When you already work full-time, commute and have caring responsibilities, carving out extra time for - well, anything - can seem like a bit of an ask. The reality is that volunteering doesn't have to involve a regular or lengthy commitment unless you want it to.

Next weekend, I'm run directing at my local parkrun, which admittedly will take up several hours of my Saturday as I'll need to inspect the course, oversee the event and process the results afterwards. However, last Saturday, I volunteered at the last minute to give a new runners' briefing, which only took five minutes. When you think about it that way, finding the time to volunteer isn't so hard.

Feel the need for speed

If you're based in London, the Mayor's volunteering program, Team London, specifically posts opportunities for quick, one-off tasks you can do to help. You can search for speed volunteering opportunities on their portal: https://speedvolunteer.london.gov.uk/

For those not only in London but also elsewhere in England, children's charity Rainbow Trust often need a hand with events. This can range from selling tickets to fund-raising concerts to wrapping presents for Christmas shoppers.

No childcare, no problem

If you haven't heard of the global phenomenon that is parkrun, where have you been? A series of free, timed, inclusive 5K runs take place every Saturday and chances are, there's one near you. You don't have to be a runner to volunteer and crucially, you can bring the kids along when volunteering in certain roles like marshalling or barcode scanning.

There's also junior parkrun, a series of 2K timed runs on Sundays where you can even volunteer whilst your children take part in the event itself (due to the number of marshals on the course, children can run the junior events without an adult in arm's reach).

Be fab whilst getting fit

National charity GoodGym encourages people to run somewhere, do some good, then run back. They're active in most major UK cities and continually expanding. You can run in a pack on regular group runs and do things like help out at stock takes at food banks or run with just one other police-checked volunteer on missions to help a vulnerable person with tasks around their home or garden. GoodGym is a great way of not only getting your workout in, but getting to know lots of other different charities operating in your area.

Do it during the 9 to 5

Many companies allow their employees some paid time off specifically for volunteering in their local communities. As an example, today I'm heading to City Hall with some of my fabulous tax team from PKF Littlejohn to take part in the annual Run to do Good. Over 200 runners from GoodGym, Team London and big companies across London will be running all over the city to take part in good deeds. Last year this involved everything from washing windows to packing boxes of poppies - we'll go anywhere that our help is needed!

Volunteering is for life... but sometimes just at Christmas

It may be that you have a bit of time to give, but only at certain times of the year. Last December, 11,000 of us volunteered at Crisis at Christmas in nine centres across London and other regions such as Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Coventry. Most roles require a three-shift minimum commitment, but with the public holidays and many people on a calendar holiday year looking to use up annual leave, fitting in a spot of Crisis volunteering isn't as hard as you would think. It's also one of the most rewarding forms of volunteering I've ever done.

In London, there's also the chance to volunteer as a Team London Ambassador over the summer or guide the public around quirky spaces that are usually closed to the public as part of Open House London in September, both of which are really fun. If you're outside the city, there will be other seasonal volunteering opportunities near you - think of any annual festivals or events in your area and do a quick spot of googling. You're probably only a few clicks away from a very grateful volunteer coordinator who would love your support.

What's your story?

If you already volunteer, it would be great to hear your story as part of Volunteers' Week, either here on LinkedIn or on other social media platforms using the hashtag #VolunteersWeek. I know lots of my connections volunteer for some amazing charities and yet don't often talk about the work that they do for them. The more people we can get sharing their stories, hopefully the more we can change that perception that busy people are too busy to change the world. We can all contribute to positive change in some small way!

And if you don't already volunteer... I hope this article shows how easy it is to fit something into your schedule and sparks an interest.

Useful links

Team London speed volunteering: https://speedvolunteer.london.gov.uk/

parkrun: https://support.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/200566453-How-do-I-volunteer-

GoodGym: https://www.goodgym.org/

Crisis at Christmas: https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/crisis-at-christmas/

Open House London: https://openhouselondon.org.uk/

National Volunteers Week: https://volunteersweek.org/