Retirement Reimagined / November 2024 Newsletter

November 2024

Monthly News & Updates

ENCORE CLEVELAND connects people who are in or nearing retirement from their primary careers with volunteer and employment opportunities through local nonprofit organizations. Discover more here..

Leadership Geauga is pleased to have 16 participants in the Fall 2024 Heritage Program for Retirees (the largest class yet)! We have three more weeks of class where participants will learn more about Geauga County and ways to give back to the community after graduation on November 13.

Click here to learn more about Leadership Geauga's Heritage Program.

November at The Music Settlement:

Piano Masterclass with Jeffrey Brown

Spend an afternoon learning piano technique from Jeffrey Brown, our newly hired Chair of the Center for Music at The Music Settlement. The masterclass is free and open to the public. Pianists of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to attend. Register here.

University Circle Campus

Saturday, November 9, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Early Childhood Open House

Is a family member looking for Preschool or Kindergarten options for the 2025 - 2026 school year? Visit our campuses to learn more about our full, child-centered curriculum that includes creative specials like music, science, drama, art, and more! Tour our facilities and meet our experienced and dedicated Early Childhood educators. Register here.

Both Campuses: University Circle and Ohio City

Thursday, November 14, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Legacy Leaders “For Your Encore”

Latest Podcast Episodes

Entrepreneurship: There is No Age Limit

Women over the age of 50 are among the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs. But often, they don't have the same access to digital tools that are constantly changing. Korin Green, Director, Women’s Business Center, Northern Ohio shares with listeners how the Women's Business Center of Northern Ohio Encore program works to close the digital divide. The program is for women business owners aged 50 or older in the Northern Ohio area. Upon completion of the program, graduates will have an understanding of:

The basics of branding, slogans and logo
How to create and manage their website through Wix
Graphic design basics from Canva
Social media best practices

Click here to listen.

Pickleball: A Sport for Legacy Leaders

Pickleball has become the latest craze. Rick Warsinskey an avid pickleball player and who is Pickleball Ambassador for Northeast Ohio shares his love for the sport of Pickleball. Rick started playing Pickleball in early 2019 a few months after he retired from the Social Security Administration. As Pickleball Ambassador he publishes a newsletter and two guides that share where to find Pickleball courts around Northeast Ohio.

Click here to listen.

Have an Idea for Your Encore? Accelerate It!

Do you have a vision for your Encore? If it involves improving our community in any way, apply to pitch it at Accelerate 2025: Citizens Make Change on February 20, 2025. Accelerate is a pitch competition where you not only have the chance to win funding (up to $5,000), but you also get your idea out in front of hundreds of community leaders who have the connections and resources to help you launch your idea. Applications are due by the end of the day, Friday, December 6.

Learn more and apply at: https://www.cleveleads.org/clc-events/accelerate/

E3 Seniors Take a Field Trip!

On September 25, 2024, E3 had the pleasure of being invited by the L.E.A.P. organization to take our seniors on a field trip to Stir Studio Kitchen and Westside Market on Cleveland's west side. Stir Studio Kitchen is an organization that hosts interactive cooking classes at studios in Ohio City, Chagrin Falls, and Hudson. We were also invited to tour the Westside Market. Transportation for the seniors was also provided by the L.E.A.P. organization.

We had a wonderful time at Stir Studio Kitchen making/preparing our meals. The menu included pierogies (see picture above), steamed cabbage with bacon, and sautéed apples as toppings. It was delicious! After lunch, the seniors gathered, and we headed over to the Westside Market.

The management staff at the Westside Market generously provided each member of our group with $50 in shopping coupons—what an amazing treat! Especially considering the cost of food these days. After our shopping spree, we regrouped to leave, but before we departed, the L.E.A.P. organization surprised us with gift bags filled with kitchen goodies, including utensils and a health-conscious cookbook.

Our seniors are still talking about what a great time they had!

To learn more about E3, visit our website here.

BVU Fellows: Connecting Experienced Professionals to Nonprofits

Nonprofits find BVU fellows indispensable

“Absolutely would recommend an Encore Fellow because of the breadth of knowledge they bring to the organization to help build processes and structures to support the successful operations. Small NP organizations may not have the human capital or expertise to support their areas of growth and can use the BVU fellow to develop and/or help grow the organization's strategies.”

“When working hard in the present and with core content day in and day out, any team can skip a step of how our message connects with those unfamiliar with our work. Our fellow was persistent in finding ways to communicate our organization’s need to find simple formats, simple language, and easily accessible content for new potential participants, partners, donors, or others to understand and connect with our work. One specific example was during a regular meeting with our fellow, he taped up our website’s full architecture to help demonstrate its complexity, and then he would later use this work to help amplify suggestions to create refreshed overview materials for our organization.”

Read interviews from nonprofits utilizing BVU fellows here.

To learn more about BVU's fellow program, click here.

Volunteer Opportunities

Trainman/Trainwoman: All aboard! The holiday season brings the most joyous train experience. Be a Volunteer that will assist with all the ins and outs of conducting a successful ride to the "North Pole." Radio use, microphone, train information, station information, safety according to the trainmen checklist. Volunteers are needed Weekdays and Weekends.

A Bavarian Christkindlmarkt: Help make a German holiday experience a success in Northeast Ohio, by helping pour hot drinks, baking, selling and delivering pretzels, helping with admission or as a cashier or with parking on the weekend of December 7 and 8 in the Parma area. Free parking, snacks and beverages. Dress for the weather, as this is an outdoor event. Holiday attire encouraged, but not mandatory. Volunteers also needed Wednesday, December 4 - Friday, December 6 to decorate and set up.

House Helper: Make temporary housing feel like home to those waiting for an organ transplant. Volunteers are asked to help with chores and small "fix-it" tasks from replacing lightbulbs to tightening door handles to replenishing magazine displays, to sweeping porches. Help is needed in the University district neighborhood from Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. weekly.

December Warehouse Sale: Hospice volunteers bring comfort to patients and their loved ones in a variety of ways, including fundraising efforts. Your efforts can contribute to a successful Warehouse Sale in the Collinwood Neighborhood on Saturday, December and Sunday, December 8. Assistance is needed for three shifts, on Saturday 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. or 11:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and on Sunday 11:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Moving furniture or sales floor help. Free parking, light snacks and beverages provided. Dress according to weather as the warehouse is not heated or air conditioned, jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts and casual comfortable shoes.

GED Tutor: Getting a GED is a big accomplishment -- help make it happen. If you have a passion for continued education, here is your chance to help support that journey! Volunteers are needed in person (Clark-Fulton Neighborhood) or virtually, to tutor individuals. Help is needed Monday- Thursday with various shifts available.

To sign up for these volunteer opportunities, contact Nancy Dzurnak, at 216-391-9500 ext. 2123, or ndzurnak@greaterclevelandvolunteers.org.

For more information on Greater Cleveland Volunteers, visit our website.