Comedian Eddie Izzard and legendary Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson have today (7 July) launched a campaign to get more people volunteering to support grassroots sport.

Sports volunteering charity Join In and BBC Get Inspired have teamed up to create the Big Help Out campaign – an initiative to inspire 10,000 new volunteers to help out at local sports clubs, groups and events. Currently, 3.2 million people give their time for free to facilitate sport across the UK, but despite this, seven out of 10 clubs still need more help.

Izzard, who is patron of Join In and Grey-Thompson – who recently became chair of ukactive – have thrown their weight behind the campaign, amid hopes the attraction of new recruits can have wider implications for sport. Join In research found that every volunteer enables 8.5 additional participants to enjoy community sport, so successfully adding 10,000 new volunteers is expected to lead to a significant upswing in sporting participation.

“Real heroes don’t wear capes or masks, they’re in the community around us, helping out at local sports clubs and using their super skills to help with fundraising, coaching, social media and everything else it takes,” said Izzard.

“But it’s not just the players that benefit, these local heroes also feel happier and healthier for helping out.”

The Big Help Out campaign aims to build on the success of the inaugural #BigThankYou at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014, which saw thousands of sports stars, clubs, players and organisations from across the UK say thanks to volunteers who dedicate their time to grassroots sport across the UK and helped to build their career in sport.

“Volunteers have played a vital role in my career,” added Grey-Thompson. “Their motivation, dedication and commitment has helped me progress in sport and they continue to help athletes, at every level, to take part in and enjoy sport.”

To sign up for Big Help Out, click here.