The Connection Coalition is very excited to be able to offer Creative Connectors grants, provided by Facebook, to support organisations within the Coalition who are working to build and maintain relationships and connections in their communities. These grants aim to support Connection Coalition members to work together to test ideas and ways of creating meaningful connections, and capture and share members’ learning with the wider Coalition and beyond. As well as the money, we will match you with other members to collaborate with, and together with Talking Taboos, we’ll create a supportive community with those who are participating to offer support and inspiration.

Image from the Great Get Together 2018

As Jo Cox said, “young or old, loneliness doesn’t discriminate”. We know that loneliness is not a new issue for young people, and we also know that the pandemic has made things worse. We are bringing Connection Coalition members together to amplify your existing work on youth loneliness, including calls to action and campaigns, and support those new to working with young people on loneliness to understand the issue and build skills to empower you to take action. We want to hear your views on the most helpful ways to go about this to help you best tackle youth loneliness in your communities.

In this article, Sue Egersdorff, founder of Ready Generations, a Connection Coalition member, explores the need for human connection, the impact of the pandemic and the charity's mission to understand the impact of loneliness across all generations and to better understand the most profound motivators of human connection.

We are creating a community of practice for Connection Coalition members focused on how we can continue to put relationships and connections at the heart of our work.

In response to the recent call for evidence from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration, The Jo Cox Foundation has submitted evidence on behalf of the Connection Coalition, based on the experiences of Coalition members.

From home working and home learning to staying in touch with friends and relatives, families have been online more than ever. But young people and their parents and carers can find it hard to agree on the right balance, and make the most of what digital offers. That's where Your Digital Family comes in. 

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unique collective experience of a nationwide lockdown, a spotlight has been shone on the issue of social isolation and loneliness and has highlighted some of the long term costs (mental, physical and economic) to our public services if left unaddressed or not treated as a fundamental part of our health and social care planning.

As we see the COVID-19 crisis widening inequalities between those online and not, how can we ensure we are not leaving those who need us most behind?

In response to the recent call for submissions from Danny Kruger MP on how civil society and Government can sustain the acts of generosity and neighbourliness seen during the pandemic, the Connection Coalition submitted a series of recommendations based on the experiences of our members.

Hubbub's purpose is to develop inspiring ways of living that are good for the environment. In this article, Sam Longworth, Project Coordinator at Hubbub, describes how they design positive campaigns that disrupt the status quo to create more sustainable communities.