For the last decade, the City of Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay Public Library have teamed up to offer seniors a chance to connect with their community and make new friends.
The Retirement Explorers program opens up its fall season at 1 p.m. Friday at the Mary J. L. Black Community Hub, with weekly sessions taking place there until Dec. 6.
“We found when you get to that 55 and over age group and people start to retire, they start to lose a sense of themselves and there’s a need for people to reconnect and find a purpose,” said Jennifer Bulloch, who is a community program developer with the City of Thunder Bay’s recreation and culture department.
“In doing that with other people who are in the same boat as they are, they are able to gain those social connections and make great friendships that last throughout the years. Plus, they find out about different things they can get involved with, whether it’s through different activities or volunteerism, that they can do when our program isn’t running.”
In addition to the fall sessions, the Retirement Explorers program also meets from January to April before taking a break for the summer.
There’s a variety of activities that take place during the course of each 90-minute weekly session. They range from guest speakers from different organizations and book clubs, to community outings like a group lunch at the Roots Community Food Centre.
“We often get feedback from the participants in the group as well as they let us know what topics are of interest to them and we try to base some of our activities off of that.”
Bulloch says the connections that are made through the program are one of the biggest benefits, which was especially noticeable as things got backup and running following the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There were a lot of people that didn’t feel comfortable coming back out when we started up again,” Bulloch added. “Reconnecting was so important coming out of the pandemic and we saw people take it upon themselves to help with that.
“There’s a call list within the group where they’ll check in with each other and people are also looking at ways to connect if they aren’t able to meet up in person. We do tech presentations with the group and we show the different ways they connect on social media.”
For more information on the Retirement Explorers program, contact the Thunder Bay Public Library at 807-345-8275 or e-mail Bulloch.
