Whether as volunteers, professionals working in any field serving and interacting with older adults, or as co-workers every day at work, we are working and living across generations. What's Your Wish? Book Club brings cross-disciplinary, cross-sector, intergenerational Twin Cities leaders together in a new way, to explore and learn, and drive action in our respective areas of influence. We meet new people, explore new ideas related to intergenerational quality of life and aging, and have some fun along the way.
April 2025 - Volunteerism as Third Place: Nourishing Body, Mind, and Spirit
As we approach April and National Volunteer Month, I often reflect on volunteerism's role as an energizing third place in many people's lives.
Do you have a third place?
Your first place is your home, your second place is your work world, and your third place is that extra place where you find community, belonging, and purpose. A third place can be a physical space like a coffee shop, pub, library, a place you volunteer, or a conceptual space like a group that forms a basis for your public social interactions, like a Rotary Club, or any public group centered around a cause or hobby you care about. As author Richard Kyte states, third places are "essential gathering spaces in our society where friendships are formed, relationships are nurtured, and the tapestry of community is woven".
This April 2025 book club session will focus on personally and professionally exploring the concept of third places in our lives, thinking about your own life specifically and societal health in general. Together we will explore intergenerational quality of life issues that impact older adults and how Wish of a Lifetime and local nonprofits like Second Harvest Heartland are providing support to overcome barriers and build possibility.
Join me, Susan T. Schuster (Midwest Regional Field Manager, Wish of a Lifetime from AARP) and our featured nonprofit leader, Julie Greene, CVA (Volunteer Engagement Director, Second Harvest Heartland) for our What's Your Wish? Book Club on April 3, 2025.
Topic: - Volunteerism as Third Place: Nourishing Body, Mind, and Spirit
Book: Finding Your Third Place: How to Rebuild and Transform our Communities, Building Happier Communities (and Making Great Friends Along the Way) Richard Kyte, 2024. Reading not required to attend.
Additional Reading:
- Make Hunger History site: https://www.2harvest.org/about-us/make-hunger-history
- State Wide Hunger Study: video: https://vimeo.com/1051325775
Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Register here. (space is limited)
In order to ensure we have seating for everyone, the Second Harvest Heartland location in Brooklyn Park will be communicated in a calendar invite to attendees who RSVP.
Agenda
1 p.m. Arrival and Networking
1:30 p.m. Volunteering with Second Harvest Heartland - food packing
2:30 p.m. Program
3:30 p.m. Reflection and Wrap-up
I hope you'll join us!
