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Thank you to everyone who joined us for Loneliness Awareness Week this year, which was our biggest and furthest reaching campaign yet!
We saw a huge growth in the number of individuals, businesses, organisations, schools who got involved, and it was fantastic to see over 3,000 connection-building activities take place across the UK and around the world for Loneliness Awareness Week.
Our theme, Random Acts of Connection, encouraged everyone to increase those simple, everyday moments of connection which help us feel happier and less lonely.
About us
Marmalade Trust is a UK charity with an international reach. Our mission is to create a society where we recognise that loneliness exists and support each other to find new social connections.
We aim to increase understanding that loneliness is a natural human emotion that we will all experience at some point in our lives. We see it as both a signal and an opportunity to increase social connections that enrich all our lives. We are here to support people in this journey.
What is Loneliness Awareness Week?
Loneliness Awareness Week, launched in 2017, aims to open up conversations about loneliness, raise awareness, and reduce stigma. Connection-building activities and events bring people together across the UK and around the world during the week.
Loneliness Awareness Week grows in momentum each year, and we're thrilled to have worked this year with representatives worldwide to create supportive communities and spread our messaging further.
Our 2024 campaign in numbers
Our campaign reached 638,000 people across the UK and globally on social media
Over 3,000 connection-building activities and events took place
87% of people told us they had started a conversation with someone new about loneliness during the week
The campaign hashtag #RandomActsOfConnection trended on X (formally Twitter).
Connection building events took place...
We had more connection building activities and events taking place for Loneliness Awareness Week than ever before! There was a fantastic range and they took place across the UK and globally too. Here are a few examples to give a flavour of the campaign:
TogetherFest 2024
Kindred, a community-focused co-working space in west London hosted a week-long festival of fun and in-person connection-focused events. These included a free community dinner, coffee socials, ‘speed friending’ and dog walks. Read more
Lonely Girls Club events
Our summer party
Seeds of connection
Together Co craft event
Loneliness micro webinar
GigMate & Goodship record store meet
Eden Project Communities
Joke rocks
As well as Random Acts of Connection...
“I had a lovely conversation with the man who served me in Starbucks, we talked about the weekend and how his son has just learnt to ride his bike.”
“I smiled to lots of strangers on my way home last night, some might have thought I was pushing myself on my bike ride, whereas others smiled back, so that was nice.”
“I popped a little note through the letterbox of a house I pass every morning on my walk to let them know that I love to look at their flowers.”
“I joined a community gardening group to help beautify our local park. Not only did we transform the space but I also met incredible people who are now some of my closest friends. Working together on this project made me feel more connected to my community.”
And our campaign had global engagement...
This year we were pleased to see global organisations once again getting involved with Loneliness Awareness Week. We had activities taking place everywhere from Zagreb to Zimbabwe which was wonderful to see!
Your feedback made us smile...
"Loneliness Awareness Week took away some of the negativity around the idea of loneliness and showing people how small, little things can make a real difference to people's lives."
"[It motivated me] to consciously connect with new people in small everyday ways”
"‘We notice that the topic of loneliness is more and more present in society, including in our school, and we wanted to react and find some answers to it, and we used this event as an opportunity to do so.’
Thank you!
Loneliness Awareness Week 2024 was hugely successful in raising awareness, normalising conversations and encouraging connections through the thousands of events and activities that took place. We could not do it without all the support of the individuals and organisations who get involved, so thank you so much!
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Contact us
If you'd like to get in contact with our team directly, send us an email at info@marmaladetrust.org. We'd love to hear from you.