Of all my roles, I'm most proud to be Chief Scout. Scouting is the greatest youth movement in history. The benefits it gives young people are incalculable, bestowing them with confidence, teaching respect and determination, introducing them to new friends and giving them an opportunity to have some incredible adventures.

Without doubt, the world would be a much poorer place without the likes of Scouting. And if it weren't for thousands of adult volunteers who give up a little of their free time each week, then Scouting, and so many other life-transforming organisations and charities, simply wouldn't exist. That's why I have developed such huge respect for volunteers: they are a core part of making our world a better place. And, boy, does it need it.

I have never met a volunteer who resents giving up their time to help and inspire others. In fact, the opposite is generally true. They've learned something that is often forgotten: that volunteering works both ways. For sure, the recipients benefit in the obvious ways, but the truth is that the volunteer gains the most. Let me explain.

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We know volunteering has a great many upsides. People make lifelong friends through volunteering and they benefit from being part of something empowering. Volunteering works on the principle that together we can make a difference. We're social creatures - we become powerful and effective when we work together. Our self-confidence increases, as does our sense of pride and identity. Volunteering helps take your mind off your own worries and gives you a renewed sense of purpose and perspective. And there's overwhelming evidence that volunteering helps battle stress and anxiety, which so many of us can be prone to. On top of that we learn new skills and interests that we can take into the workplace.

But there are also some more surprising benefits of volunteering, which have been well studied and are very clear. Researchers at the London School of Economics studied a large group of adult volunteers in the US and found that weekly volunteering leads to the same boost in happiness and wellbeing as a pay rise of up to $80,000 (£55,000).

So what holds people back? I believe it is a lack of confidence and understanding - confidence that we really make a difference and understanding what to do and where to go.

Too often, our notions of what it takes to be a man in the modern world focus solely on what we can do for ourselves: our ability to forge a career, to provide for our family, to maintain our own health. We're very quick to define ourselves by our careers and it can be so easy, in the middle of our busy lives, to imagine that we simply don't have the time to devote to voluntary work. We think that the voluntary world gets along pretty well without our help, so it's fine to leave that stuff to other people. And maybe, deep down, we imagine that we simply don't have the skills or experience to be of any real help to anybody anyway.

And this is partly why so many men face such a crisis in identity, confidence and brotherhood. In closing our minds to the possibilities and opportunities inherent in volunteering, not only do we lose the chance to make our community a little better, we lose the opportunity to make ourselves better too.

Now, there is always a cost to this improvement, and for the volunteer the cost is time. But the key is that it doesn't require a lot of time. It works on the basis of a lot of people doing a little. (You have heard the expression that if you want something done then ask a busy person.) We can all find a little bit of time in our schedule to dedicate to others. And if we can't then we should.

If we can improve ourselves and our community by doing something so simple, imagine what we can achieve when we start to put ourselves out of our comfort zone a little and set ourselves and our groups more ambitious goals - helping build parks or mentoring young homeless people, for instance. Then it gets interesting on so many levels.

I have witnessed, first hand, how volunteering can bring together people of all races, ages and backgrounds, and change communities all over the world for the better. This is a vitally important mission for us to be part of. Look at the rise of jihadism. People want purpose and respect and a sense of communal belonging. And if we don't provide these qualities in something good, people will find it in something bad. Volunteer organisations, such as Scouting, provide this positive purpose.

We should all strive to live lives that are bigger than our own little circles. But if we don't get stuck in, it won't happen. End of story. So go on, look on the internet for a local organisation that excites you, that needs you, and get involved. And ideally involve your children if you have them. It will unite you, strengthen you and inspire you - and you will be part of making the world just that little bit better.

beargrylls.com; scouts.org.uk