Volunteers’ Week: Volunteering is the Bedrock of our Society
5 June 2026
Volunteering across the UK has faced a notable decline since COVID-19.
While only 17% of adults in the UK participated in formal monthly volunteering in 2025, Scotland had a higher rate of engagement with 25% of adults in Scotland formally volunteering in 2024. Although numbers have begun to rise, significant barriers remain for inclusive volunteering opportunities and wider recruitment.
Volunteering is the bedrock of our society; connecting communities and individuals with worthwhile causes. As we celebrate Volunteers’ Week, we’re taking a moment to look at the incredible commitment our volunteers give to young people every day across the UK and the wider impact they have in society.
Why Volunteering?
At the core of MCR Pathways is the connection between volunteer mentors and the young people they support. It’s rooted in the belief that everyone has something valuable to contribute through life experiences, careers and other pursuits. Volunteer mentors are transforming the education and life outcomes of
young people across the UK by simply being a consistent, Trusted Adult they can rely on.
For us, volunteering takes the form of mentoring; a one-to-one investment that changes two lives simultaneously. As one of our long-term volunteer mentors recently shared:
“Despite the many challenges, the moments where my mentee makes significant advances feel like huge triumphs. These stay with me as powerful and positive memories that significantly increase my levels of happiness, my feelings of connection to others, and my sense that I am living my life according to the values most important to me.”
Long-Term Volunteer Mentor, MCR Pathways
Recent data from our annual report found that:
- During the 2024/25 academic year, mentors gave 103,228 volunteering hours through 5,019 mentored relationships. This translates to £1.3M in social value.
- 89% of mentors have found personal fulfillment in helping others.
- 85% of mentors have gained a greater understanding of the challenges young people face today.
- 65% of mentors feel more connected to and involved with their community since starting mentoring.
The social capital and early intervention generated by Trusted Adult Volunteer Mentors acts as a vital safety net. Mentors empower young people to realise achievement in educational settings, enhance their wellbeing, improve their attendance and support them in progressing into positive post-school destinations. This is vital for young people during such a critical stage in their life, pre-empting escalating public costs associated with responding to educational disengagement, mental health support and unemployment.
For example, in England, 100% of mentored school leavers went on to a positive initial destination of employment, education or training. By securing these transitions, the early intervention of a Trusted Adult Volunteer Mentor contributes to active economic contributions and independence.
Policy Landscape
Our commitment to volunteering is aligned with national strategies across the UK, ensuring that local efforts contribute to a wider, national vision.
In Scotland, a Volunteering Action Plan was created in 2022 with the aim of creating a fairer Scotland to ensure volunteering is inclusive for all by breaking down barriers to participation by 2032. In our recently published 2026 Manifesto, we called for the goals of the Plan to be revitalised to recognise the societal and economic value volunteers bring to communities.
Central to this Plan is local and national investment to prioritise volunteer participation. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has called for Fair Funding for the voluntary sector to support this participation effort. It is encouraging that the Scottish Government has committed to fairer funding this year, but this has yet to be defined. We welcome the SNP’s manifesto commitment to develop an ‘agreement’ with the third sector under their leadership. Currently, Scotland is the only nation in the UK without a formal agreement with their government. Without a formal agreement with their government, Scotland’s third sector and by extension Scotland’s volunteers will be on the backfoot in their ability to support people and make a tangible difference in their lives. For SCVO, funding has to be long-term, flexible, sustainable and accessible. Therefore, any efforts to commit to and secure fairer funding should fall under these principles to truly support the over 46,000 voluntary organisations in Scotland.
Across the UK, there had been calls for further collaboration between the voluntary sector and UK Government, especially regarding consistent support from the Government due to the importance of the sector in meeting the needs of the communities they serve. In 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a ‘Civil Society Covenant’ to repair these relationships. The Covenant Framework is underpinned by 4 principles: transparency, recognition, partnership and participation. The final Covenant was published last year creating a stronger relationship between the Government and the voluntary sector, empowering charities and fostering collaborative policymaking. A Joint Council has since been established this year to oversee progress. We look forward to continuing to work and strengthen our partnerships with fellow voluntary organisations across the UK.
Trusted Adult Guarantee
Volunteering sits at the core of our primary ask to Government – committing to a Trusted Adult Guarantee.
A Trusted Adult is a consistent, reliable person who holds a vital place in the wider support network of a young person. They are someone who truly believes in the power of a young person’s ability to ignite their own potential and make informed decisions about their futures.
At MCR Pathways, our 3,300+ dedicated Trusted Adult Volunteer Mentors show up every week to bridge the gap for the many young people who face significant barriers with their peers. In our most recent annual report we asked young people how they felt about the impact their mentor has on their lives. The data shows:
- 99% said they felt their mentor was a good role model
- 96% said having a mentor has improved their confidence
- 98% said their mentor encouraged them to be the best version of themselves
The Trusted Adult Guarantee is a preventative measure that can instill a young person with the self-belief they need to transition into adulthood successfully, giving them the agency to deliver change in their lives by equipping them with the tools to develop themselves and make and sustain relationships outwith their families and immediate communities. This breaks cycles of poverty, leads to a greater contribution to the economy and greater commitment to communities through volunteering encouraging them to thrive.
With the intervention of MCR Pathways, for every pound spent, society gains a return of £2.80. The evidence is clear: volunteering matters, mentoring matters. Long term investment must be committed in order for programmes that benefit from the support of Trusted Adult volunteers to continue empowering all young people to find their way.
Want to make a difference? Sign up to be a Trusted Adult Volunteer Mentor today!
