The London Lonely Girls Club
2063. Holly Cooke
Holly Cooke, from London, founded ‘ The London Lonely Girls Club’, a community to connect people living in London to help build friendships and combat isolation.
Moving to London from Stoke on Trent in 2018 and struggling with loneliness, Holly started a Facebook group to help others in a similar situation, and has since seen the community grow to over 40,000 members, taking part in a range of social events like brunches, game nights and picnics. The events are open to all, with Holly wanting to create a safe, welcoming and non-judgmental space for members.
The award for Holly comes during Loneliness Awareness Week, which aims to address the issues around loneliness and highlight how it can affect mental health.
Holly said:
“It was absolutely wonderful news to hear I am receiving the Points of Light Award, and for ‘The London Lonely Girls Club’ to be recognised for our work in helping combat loneliness and bringing people together! Our organisation started from a personal desire and need to make friends and connect with others, and now nearly 5 years on for us to be able to help 10s of thousands of women across the city to do the same is just incredible. We can’t wait to see where the next few years take us and how many more people we’re able to help not just in London but across the country too.”
See more about ‘The London Lonely Girls Club’