About the campaign
Hosted by Marmalade Trust
What is Loneliness Awareness Week?​
Loneliness Awareness Week is a week dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. It's all about creating supportive communities by having open, honest conversations. Loneliness is a natural human emotion - we are hardwired to need social connections. By talking about it, we can support ourselves and others.
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The campaign centres on a powerful message which resonates with many. We've trended on Twitter, reached 271.5 million people in one week with the campaign, and each year we've seen tens of thousands of organisations, charities and individuals get involved, including the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, Mayor of London, NHS trusts, and all Government departments.
Who runs the campaign?
Marmalade Trust is a leading loneliness charity offering support for all ages, dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness and empowering people to make connections. We launched Loneliness Awareness Week in 2017 and it grows in momentum each year across the UK and internationally.
What can the campaign achieve?
Loneliness Awareness Week is vital in increasing awareness and understanding of loneliness and we can create a more connected society.
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Whilst we’re seeing an increase in discussion on the subject, stigma remains and some key misconceptions still need to be challenged. Ask anyone to picture a lonely person and most will imagine an older person living on their own. As such, we often rebuke and dismiss feelings of loneliness because ‘that doesn’t apply to me’.
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By identifying and acknowledging all the times that we have personally felt and experienced loneliness, we can start to change our viewpoint, accept it and understand how to take action to manage the feeling (and our social connections) in the future.
What sort of things happen during the week?
So much happens during Loneliness Awareness Week, the only limit is imagination! From coffee mornings and book clubs to walking clubs and art workshops, to neighbourhood bake sales and speed friending.
There are designated chatty tables in cafes and pubs, businesses putting loneliness on their meeting agenda, radio stations having honest and open conversations about loneliness, laughter yoga, swing dancing, shared office lunches and cook-offs.
Thousands of pounds have been raised in the last seven years during Loneliness Awareness Week and thousands of people have connected to share stories and conversations that reduce stigma and raise awareness.
Previous campaigns
Marmalade Trust launched Loneliness Awareness Week in 2017 and it grows in momentum each year across the UK and internationally. Here are a few of the highlights...
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2024
Random Acts of Connection
Our theme encouraged everyone to increase those simple, everyday moments of connection which help us feel happier and less lonely.
It was fantastic to see over 3,000 connection-building activities take place across the UK and around the world. Our campaign reached 638,000 people across the UK and globally on social media, the campaign hashtag trended on X. ​87% of people told us they had started a conversation with someone new about loneliness during the week. Read more >
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Join our social community
Taking part in Loneliness Awareness Week can be as simple as connecting on social media. Share your story with our hashtag: #LonelinessAwarenessWeek