Yes, really. The areas of life where the largest and most familiar charities are active include health and social care, wildlife conservation, the arts, culture and heritage, education, sport and leisure, international aid...In fact there are few aspects of life here in which charities are not involved, and the tradition of volunteering is deeply ingrained. Some charities, such as the National Trust (300,000 members) or the RSPB (over 1 million members) are very large, but many of that 186,000 are very small and local in their aims.
I spent most of my working life until retirement in the British charitable sector, so forgive me if I seem rather sensitive on the point!
The only one I really remember from my time there is OxFam.