About Us
How we began: Three friends were walking together, talking about how much we love living on Pender and how sad we would be if we found ourselves having to leave.
Who are we?
We are a volunteer-run community network with a social purpose: to help create and sustain an environment that supports all who wish to grow old well on Pender and die peacefully here if they choose to do so.
We form connections with one another, attend events, and share information and stories.
Our G’Old lies in the unique skills and experience we’ve developed throughout our lives. We believe we can share our G’Old in support of one another in a variety of ways that respect our individual capacity and interests.
Anyone, of any age, is welcome to participate, in any way! You may want to volunteer, attend an event, or just read our newsletter. Anyone is welcome to join. There are no fees and no obligations!
Our Goals
- Look after our own health and support those caring for others
- Maintain and grow our social connections
- Access transportation options when we can no longer drive
- Maintain our homes and gardens as we age
- Prepare for a peaceful death here on Pender
Our endeavour depends on two things: people being willing and able to offer something helpful and other people being willing and able to accept it.
Principles and Values
- Support one another in asking for and offering help with empathy and generosity.
- Listen to each other, learning from our experience, beliefs, and needs.
- Cultivate an adaptable network based on the capacity of our volunteers.
- Take action for ourselves and for others
- Support and supplement existing services, without duplicating them.
Our Focus
Relationships, conversations, connection, support
- We help to communicate the services provided to elders by other organizations and provide additional information and opportunities for discussion. We are not a direct service provider.
- We share information in support of advocacy for elders. We do not directly advocate ourselves.
- We model a respectful attitude toward elders and aging, avoiding ageism as expressed in our words and images. We encourage other service providers to do the same.
- We take into consideration the breadth of our network member’s needs and capabilities when offering events
“Quotes can go here” — Member Name
The Conversation Circle
How we listen and talk to one another
We draw on one of the oldest methods of facilitating group conversations – that of the ‘Circle’. In a circle conversation, each person speaks in turn, in response to a specific question or topic. When they are not speaking, they give their full attention as a listener.
