my husband's friend group lost one of their own to suicide many years ago. it was a huge wake up call for all of them and since then they've organized a yearly event they call "Ditch Day" where they ditch from work and get together to do whatever. Some years it's a camping weekend, some years it's just dinner.

It isn't about just one day out of the year but sometimes that's what you need to get started building and deepening those bonds.