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Marmalade Connections
Supporting project members to make meaningful new connections
What is Marmalade Connect?
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Marmalade Connect is a goal-focused, phone-based service that supports adults experiencing persistent loneliness to take practical steps towards building social connections.
Many people experiencing loneliness want to feel more connected but aren’t sure where to start. Marmalade Connect provides short-term support to help people build confidence, explore what connection means for them, and take the first small steps towards reconnecting with others.
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The programme is time-limited and practical, helping participants move from feeling stuck to taking action.
How Marmalade Connect works
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Participants receive support through a structured programme lasting up to eight weeks.
After an initial conversation with our team, participants are matched with a trained volunteer who supports them through a series of phone calls. Together they will:
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Explore what connection means to them
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Set a realistic personal connection goal
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Identify barriers that may be holding them back
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Discover local activities, groups, or opportunities
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Take small steps towards building meaningful social connections
The focus is on building confidence, capability and momentum, so that participants leave the programme feeling better equipped to continue their journey towards connection.
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Marmalade Connect is not a helpline, counselling service, or befriending programme. Instead, it provides practical, goal-focused support to help people take the next step towards feeling more connected.
Our approach
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Marmalade Connect is rooted in Marmalade Trust’s evidence-based approach to addressing loneliness:
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Acknowledge the feeling of loneliness
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Identify what might help someone feel less lonely
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Take action to begin building connections
Connection looks different for everyone. For some people this might mean attending a local group or activity. For others it may involve reconnecting with a hobby, volunteering, or strengthening existing relationships.
What matters is taking small, achievable steps towards connection.
Funding Marmalade Connect
We are currently seeking funding to launch and expand Marmalade Connect so we can support more people experiencing persistent loneliness.
Loneliness can quietly sit behind many challenges people face, including low confidence, reduced wellbeing, and difficulty engaging with their community. Marmalade Connect helps people move from isolation towards connection by providing practical support at the point they are ready to take a step forward.
Funding will allow us to:
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Recruit and train volunteers
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Deliver structured support to participants
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Expand access to the programme across the UK
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Measure and demonstrate the impact of connection-focused support
If you are interested in supporting Marmalade Connect or partnering with us to work towards reducing loneliness, we would love to hear from you: abiwiltshire@marmaladetrust.org
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Stay updated
We will be sharing updates soon about referrals, volunteering opportunities and programme launch.
If you would like to be the first to hear about volunteering or referrals, please sign up for updates below.
Meet Helen, 87
“The loneliness and the isolation... it makes me feel very low,” says Helen of life since her husband died. “Some days I don’t see a soul.” Helen was caught in a cycle of feeling disconnected, “It’s really hard to make new friends when you’re feeling down. It makes you want to stay in.”
Thanks to the Marmalade Connections project, Helen was matched with a friendly, trained volunteer to help her make new connections and find social activity in their local community. “My lovely volunteer never misses a call. We chat away very easily, about all sorts of things, including cats.”
“She has asked me all about things I like to do or used to enjoy doing. It's been really helpful to talk about ideas and think about what might be possible. She’s encouraged me to get back to my knitting club and has also found me another activity. I’ve met a few new people, I feel more positive and am finding it easier to make new friends and talk to people.”
“The project has been important to me because it has brought me together with people again. My hopes for the future? I just want to be friends with people!”
Our approach
We recognise that loneliness is a subjective experience, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will prevent everyone from feeling lonely. By matching a trained volunteer with each project member, we can ensure that each individual receives a tailored response that connects them with the kinds of services and support they think would help them.
By building a trusting relationship through regular phone contact, volunteers offer help and support to build the project member's confidence, form new social links and access services needed. Signposting to new activities or ways of making social connections inside or outside the home, is a key part of the volunteer role.
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Our goal
Ultimately the project aims to enable our project members to step out of loneliness and make meaningful, long-lasting connections that bring them joy far beyond the programme. By the end of the project, we hope to see our project members engaging with a new group, activity, or opportunity in their community or online; rekindling old hobbies, becoming more active or learning new skills.​
How to get involved all year round...
From sponsored runs to cake sales, fundraising is a brilliant way to support our charity.
