‘Help wanted, no experience necessary’ Opportunities for you at Starts at 60

One of the great joys we have at Starts at 60 is knowing we are bringing together a growing number of people who are entering an exciting stage of their lives. While not everyone reaching this milestone can immediately enjoy the freedom from work and family, there are a number of you living your dreams.

We hear about these dreams being achieved when you gather with other over-60s at our monthly Community and Travel Buddies Meet-ups. It’s at these gatherings that you talk freely about your family, the opportunities to scale back or retire from work, the fears you have about your finances as you transition, and the joy you get from being able to spend time ticking off destinations on your travel bucket list. It’s this love of being part of a community that helps make your life (and ours) more fun.

Connecting with other members as part of a community is what makes Starts at 60 unique. At the heart of what we do is seek out ways we can enrich your life, make it more fun and more exciting. The news, inspiration, stories, offers and travel deals many of you would associate with Starts at 60 is only scratching the surface of the far more special things we do. It’s providing you with opportunities to find friendship and community with people who share one major common ground — this wonderful stage of life.

You’d be aware by now that Starts at 60 facilitates more than 90 Community and Travel Buddies Meet-ups every month. While many of these meet-ups are held on the first Tuesday of the month, we have seen some groups evolve and offer opportunities to get together, including group walking, movie days and dinners, in addition to the monthly gathering. We want you to build something that Starts at 60 members want to stay a part of and it’s heart-warming to learn that strong friendship bonds are being formed.

Our Starts at 60 Community and Travel Buddies Meet-ups would not be the success they are without our community hosts. Having a host is vital to running our community meet-ups. Last month I wrote about why you might not be able to find a meet-up in your area and the valuable work our volunteer hosts do in coordinating these monthly events.

Our Community and Travel Buddies Meet-up hosts are very special people and are the backbone of our monthly meet-ups. Yet despite the best efforts of all hosts to make their guests feel welcome, some meet-ups are struggling to have enough attendees to make them viable. If you haven’t attended one of our free monthly meet-ups yet, consider doing so. Everyone needs company, no matter their age. We at Starts at 60 want to hear more of the stories about how members are making new friends who are enriching their lives through shared interests and activities.

There are new meet-ups in Rockhampton and Ipswich/Karalee, Queensland; and Altona, Victoria.

We also want to encourage you to get along to the meet-ups in Carlingford, North Ryde and North West Sydney/Rouse Hill, New South Wales; Mount Ommaney and Mount Gravatt, Queensland; and Hamilton, Hibiscus Coast and West Auckland/Kumea, New Zealand.

Starts at 60 is a community. It might sound like an old-fashioned thing to say today, especially when you think about the ways in which society has become disintegrated and self-absorbed. However, the best parts of Starts at 60 come from the amazing contributions of its members. As the old saying goes, “If it is to be, it is up to me”.

If you’d like more information on our community meet-ups or you’d like to become a host, contact Starts at 60’s events coordinator, Karen O’Brien-Hall.