Friendship Month 2024 – a huge success
Updated: 10 Oct 2024
While the term ‘frenergy’ is new, it’s a very familiar feeling. The energy friendship gives us is unmistakeable, and at this year’s Friendship Month celebrations, our Branches up and down the country were dishing it out in abundance.
Our biggest Friendship Month yet
Each year in September, our branches pull out all the stops to bring friendship to their communities, inviting everyone to come along and give an Oddfellows taster event a try.
Now in its 15th year, it was our biggest campaign to date. Friendship Month even featured on national TV’s BBC Morning Live programme!
Handforth and Altrincham Oddfellows had a visit from BBC Morning Live
The Oddfellows’ CEO, Jane Nelson, has expressed her thanks to everyone involved saying: “Once again I am so proud of each and every person at our brilliant branches for all the efforts they have put into making this year’s Friendship Month such a success.
“It’s hard to believe that this is the 15th time we’ve claimed September as our month-long celebration of all the benefits of friendship. But it’s safe to say it’s been our biggest yet, with over 300 taster events put on throughout the country – that’s a huge amount of work!
“Coffee mornings, walks, talks, music events, meals, games, quizzes, day trips – whatever it might be, you’ve pulled out all the stops to let the nation know that we’re here and ready to offer support, fun and friendship to all.”
Local frenergy
Humber Wolds Oddfellows members came together for Friendship Month
Many new and familiar faces, a huge variety of activities and heaps of laughter appeared to be the common threads to this year’s taster events.
Val Smith is a Social Organiser at Humber Wolds Oddfellows. She said: “It’s been lovely to see old friends and new coming together this September – we’ve had a blast!
“One person even travelled 10 miles to join us and told us they were glad they did. It’s been a lot of hard work to pull everything together but it makes it all worth it when we hear comments like that.”
This is something Helen Patel, Social Organiser at Sudbury Oddfellows, reiterated: “What a wonderful Friendship Month we have had at Sudbury Oddfellows. Members old and new have joined together for fun, laughter and friendship.
“We had such interesting speakers and fabulous trips out. Thank you to everyone that came along to see what we offer – you are all part of our Oddfellows friendship family.”
The Sudbury Oddfellows "friendship family"
Mid-Staffordshire Oddfellows put on a Friendship Fair with lots of stalls showcasing all the brilliant things the Oddfellows has to offer. With the help of local member volunteers, the event went down a treat.
Mid-Staffordshire Oddfellows’ Branch Secretary, Tina Bayley, said: “A huge thanks go to everyone who made Friendship Month such a success.
“There was lots of lovely chatter over a cuppa. We also raised a magnificent £212.29 for the Midlands Air Ambulance, our Chairman’s Charity.”
She added: “One new visitor said, ‘this is exactly what I need, my daughter has been telling me to join places, so she will be so pleased’.”
The science of frenergy
A Friendship Month walk got the frenergy flowing at Mersey Oddfellows
To help deliver the frenergy message to the nation, the Oddfellows enlisted the help of Dr Veronica Lamarche, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at The University of Essex.
“Frenergy is the emotional and psychological energy you get from friendship,” she said. “Simply put, it’s the ‘feel good factor’ you get from being around friends.
“Frenergy is a hugely valuable resource. Being around friends increases happiness and makes us feel good. From a psychological perspective, being around people we like provides emotional elevation.”
Brighton and Sussex Oddfellows members met for coffee and friendship
In order to get some real-life data about the phenomenon, we commissioned research*, focusing on those aged 50 and over in the UK. And the results were significant.
As you might expect, in-person get-togethers provide the biggest energy boost for those aged over 50 (63%), but the same kind of emotional and psychological energy can also be derived from other experiences.
Two thirds (63%) of those involved in the study said they got the same kind of buzz from helping strangers. 59% said simply witnessing an act of kindness gave them a frenergy boost.
Perhaps more surprisingly, 39% of people said they get an energy boost from watching TV and 46% from receiving a text.
Friendship come in all shapes and sizes at Capital of the Fens Oddfellows
Dr Lamarche said: “Everyone has different frenergy needs. This naturally shifts depending on whether we’re feeling introverted or extroverted and what life stage we’re at.”
She added: “We also found that almost half of respondents (46%) said they wanted to spend more time with friends, with 54% saying that a friend-date once or twice a week was best for them. Whether you’re a non-stop social butterfly or prefer the occasional coffee catch-up, it’s about understanding what’s right for your frenergy needs.”
Friendship isn’t just for September
Friendship and laughter were shared at Ipswich Oddfellows
Luckily, helping people spend time in good company is something we can help with year round – not just during Friendship Month.
Our friendship groups have lots of wonderful events coming up, so if you didn’t manage to join us this September, there’s plenty more on the horizon. Your local Branch would love to welcome you, so why not discover what’s coming up in your area?
Our Branch Finder will help you find the Branch closest to you, or use our Events Finder to search for local and online social events and activities.
Contact us to request your free membership information pack and local events diary. And for information on the wider benefits of membership, head to the benefits page.
*The Oddfellows commissioned Opinium to conduct a survey of 2,000 UK adults aged 50+, weighted to be nationally representative, between 17 and 23 July 2024.