Poll: Helping others & volunteering common in UK, as Queen highlights Jubilee 'neighbourliness'
Community spirit is alive and well across the UK, according to a new survey for The National Lottery Good Causes, ahead of this weekend's Diamond Jubilee.
While the Queen has said she hopes that her Diamond Jubilee will bring people together in a 'spirit of neighbourliness' and celebrate the voluntary service given by millions, the survey of 2,060 UK adults suggests that many of us are actually already good neighbours:
- Over half of UK adults (55%) have run an errand or done a chore for someone outside of their immediate family in the last month
- One in five adults in London and Scotland (20%) do voluntary work at least once a week to help a good cause – the highest rate in the UK
- People in Northern Ireland and the north east of England appear to be the friendliest with the ratio of residents claiming to frequently smile and say hello to people in the street almost double that in London and the South East (46% Northern Ireland, 41% north east, 23% south east, 20% London)
The National Lottery has a key role in this weekend's Diamond Jubilee celebrations through its funding of The BIG Jubilee Lunches, as well as parks and community centres in which the nation's celebrations are taking place.
'Changing lives in local community'
Commenting on the findings, Peter Wanless, Chairman of The National Lottery Forum, said: “This survey shows that community spirit is strong, with most people going out of their way to help others. The National Lottery brings people together by funding community groups, local arts and sports clubs. Millions will make new friends at celebrations at Lottery-funded parks, community centres and BIG Jubilee Lunches over the long weekend."
He added, "National Lottery players raise £30 million every week for Good Causes. They should be proud that this money is changing so many lives in their local community.”
See the survey details and full results here
The National Lottery has provided funding to the BIG Lunch (£3.5 million) and the Jubilee People’s Millions (£3.3 million) via The BIG Lottery Fund, the largest of the 13 distributors of National Lottery funding.
National Lottery players have raised over £28 billion since the Lottery started in 1994, funding 380,000 Good Causes across the UK.
