When member Joanne Low first learned about San Francisco Village, she didn’t think she was ready for membership.
“It was something that I thought I saw in my future, but not immediately,” she said. “But since then, joining and going to some of the activities, I realized there isn’t really a right age — there’s things for different people at different stages.”
Like Low, you or someone you know who recently retired may feel that membership is something you’d prefer to pursue later in life. But in fact, the programming and relationships gained from membership benefit members regardless of age.
Membership includes individuals from their early 60s to those well into their 90s. After joining, Low soon realized the importance of these intergenerational relationships in navigating aging.
“My focus was on the asking for help portion of membership, a stage that we frequently associate with our later years,” Low said. “But I realized that’s just one portion of it. It’s good to think about my 70s 80s when I’m in my 60s, preparing now versus waiting until I’m already in that stage of life.”
Low said membership also helped her navigate life post-retirement, providing a sense of community that sometimes disappears when we leave a job.
“I realized that when you retire, you don’t really know what your coworkers are doing after — you may stay in touch with some emails but other than that, you move onto another stage in life,” she said.
Member and board member Bill Haskell said the sense of community membership offers helps members hold a positive image around aging and self-worth.
“It’s not about now versus later. It’s about participating in an enriched community,” Haskell said. “It’s a group of people who want to shift the paradigm of seeing older adults as a resource versus a deficit on society.”
Membership allows us to live fully engaged lives, learning more about ourselves and the world around us while being supported by a community of our peers.
“I think it’s important to think of aging as a great time for growth, to learn more about life and yourself — take advantage of the time you have,” Haskell said.
Share the gift of community this holiday season! You or someone you know could benefit from aging better together. Inquire about San Francisco Village membership today by filling out an application here. And, share this blog with others.
Sara joined the team in 2018. She brings with her 20 years of experience in community development, philanthropy, and organizational management. She completed her bachelors at George Washington University and her masters at UC Berkeley. Her career focus has been on evaluating how community groups run from year-to-year and strengthening daily processes to increase institutional success. Sara loves travel and global development issues, particularly a non-profit she founded 10 years ago focusing on students’ access to school in Cambodia. Sara is raising her family here in San Francisco.
Maya is a public relations and communications professional with more than a decade of experience; her expertise includes consumer products and technology PR, as well as event management and content development. She has been a pro-bono consultant with the Taproot Foundation since 2012, and has participated in three service grants to date. Maya attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and graduated with a BA in mass communications and a minor in political science.