Link Together: How you can take part in the NFWI’s campaign to alleviate loneliness

Our new campaign seeks to inspire WI members to take action on loneliness and share innovative ways of engaging with others who may be lonely.

While it can be hard to tell if someone is experiencing loneliness, there are many ways to let the members of your WI or federation as well as friends, family and people in your community know that you care.

Take time to be kind on World Kindness Day

That’s why we’re encouraging members to take the time to be kind on World Kindness Day on 13 November. If you’re looking for some ideas on how to get involved, why not make a pledge to do something kind for someone else? Could you offer to make someone a cup of tea, pay someone a compliment or even volunteer your time in your local community? Do-it is the UK’s national volunteering database and can help you to find opportunities near you – just type in your post code or town at https://do-it.org.

You could also hold a pledge event to highlight how the members of your WI or federation are taking part in World Kindness Day and taking action to support people who may be lonely. Why not decorate your event using our bunting template which you can fill in with your pledge of kindness? Simply download the campaign action pack and get crafting!

If you’re interested in taking action within your WI or federation, you might like to have a look at our basic guide (below). The WI has a long history of supporting and reaching out to people in the community and so we know that many members will have already embarked on great projects that aim to tackle the issue of loneliness. If this sounds like your WI, let us know what you think of these suggestions and if you have any further ideas on what more WIs and federations could be doing to reach out to members and non-members.

You can also share your experiences and ideas on how loneliness is best tackled by taking part in our short online survey which can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/33GSYWH. The survey will be open until 31 October 2017. 

There are lots of other ways you can get involved and help to make a difference. Are you interested in how local health services are tackling loneliness in your area? If so, why not contact your Health and Wellbeing Board in England, Public Services Board in Wales or Local Health Board in Wales to find out what steps they are taking? To help you get started, visit the LinkTogether page of the My WI website (under the ‘Public Affairs and Campaigns’ tab) to download a template letter or contact the Public Affairs Department at publicaffairs@nfwi.org.uk.

To find out more about the Link Together campaign, download the action pack here or login to My WI (https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/).