Many people who worked at the Olympics were doing it for free
When you think about volunteering, does the word "boring" come to mind?
It shouldn't.
Kristen Stephenson, from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, says people don't realise there are "fun" roles out there.
"Sometimes the perception is that volunteering is getting involved in a regular formal role, say in a charity shop, which may not be appealing," she tells Newsbeat.
"Actually what we're seeing is there's much more of a demand for short-term opportunities. People can get involved in event-volunteering.
"There's a lot more flexibility than people realise. Young people can take on leadership roles on charity boards and make strategic key decisions. "
To reflect the range of volunteering roles out there, some organisations have started using the term social action which "may be seen as a kind of rebrand", she says.
"Yet volunteering, like social action, is about getting people to give up their time for a cause they believe in."
Radio 1 and 1Xtra have launched plans for #1MillionHours - a year-long volunteering campaign where both stations will be asking listeners to pledge one million hours of time to good causes over the next 12 months. You can sign up here. , external
Is a charity shop what you think of when you think of volunteering?
David Reed is from Generation Change, a partnership of charities that encourages young people to volunteer.
He tells Newsbeat he uses the term social action to describe volunteering because it's a better word to describe what young people are doing now.
"Social action is a really relevant term for new trends in volunteering. It's more than a rebrand. It's not just the traditional model any more," he tells Newsbeat.
One person who bucks traditional trends of volunteering is the Free Help Guy. The 29-year-old started offering free help to people four years ago, posting an advert online while he was in between jobs.
Newsbeat went to meet him. "I was doing a bit of soul-searching," he says.
"I didn't say who I was, what I was good at or what my motivations were. I just offered help.
"Next morning, I had 15 requests from all sorts of people, all over the country, asking all sorts of things.
"[It was] from people not being very well and struggling with their housing to people who've broken up with their first love and need someone to talk to. There're people who are old and have just lost their husband or wife. I get the full spectrum of human problems really."
He wants to remain anonymous in his Free Help role.
"It's important to me. I think it's quite refreshing to do something today without screaming and shouting about it," he explains.
He's crowdfunded to send a little girl to the US to get life-saving treatment and been involved in making a viral video about accessibility on the London underground.
He has a strong social media following and organises group meetings or "help mobs". Recently they helped a jerk chicken shop.
"The shop owners were feeding homeless people every day without really shouting about it," he explains.
"We got 100 people through their door for lunch and we all paid far more than they charged us, as a way to say thank you."
The Free Help Guy doesn't operate through an organisation and acknowledges this could be risky.
"If it doesn't feel right or I haven't managed to speak with the person a couple of times before we meet, I just make the decision to try and be safe - I tell people where I'm going.
"These are all things I have to consider not being part of a big organisation. Traditional volunteering you have that security and avoid those risks."
"The word 'volunteering' needs a bit of a rebrand for people.
"It's a shame it's perceived as boring. Volunteering needs to be cool again.
"Like a big chunk of the charity sector, it's a little bit stale and actually there isn't anything better in the world than spending a bit of your time helping others. I don't care what anyone says, that's cool."
To sign up to Radio 1 and 1Xtra's #1MillionHours campaign please visit Radio 1
You can also pledge your time on the Radio 1 website as well as on social media using the #1MillionHours hashtag.
