Free Workshop Series Sponsored by BCNA during Seniors’ Month June 2021

It is exciting to share that a new workshop series is beginning June 8th, 2021. The series is entitled Pandemic Recovery Series Conquering Ageism in Employment and is hosted by the Bayview Cummer Neighbourhood Association (BCNA). It will assist mature workers who are looking for work and seeking a meaningful challenge.

Career Coach Ann Marie Gilroy and I are co-leading the series. It runs June 8th, 15th, and 22nd. It is free to attend.

Pre-register through this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsdemsrD8oHNfyC0GO44V5lklKB7mrRZTB

For more information visit: http://www.suzannecook.ca/workshops/

This week, I listened with great interest to the story of Izzy McQueen, an 88-year-old dedicated Santa’s helper in BC.

Thirty-five years of volunteer service! What an achievement! Congratulations for your commitment to sending out thoughtful and compassionate letters to children.

What a shock to be let go from meaningful community work; and with a voice message!

I am impressed with Izzy McQueen’s work and her experiences as a Santa elf. What a dynamo! She thought she could do it, and she did! The postal service should have given her ‘grand’ recognition for her tireless work as a dedicated volunteer to children and adults alike, in Canada and around the world.

Thanks to Daybreak Kamloops with Shelley Joyce for covering this story on Dec 1st, 2020.

Individuals anticipate retirement and envision it as a time for leisure and recreation, travelling and an opportunity to do many things that they have put off. However, once retired, they realize that they are longing for the structure, sense of purpose, and fulfillment of a career.

Or they feel like something is missing from their lives. Perhaps they feel not busy and not useful or not productive enough.

Sometimes something happens to make you stop and think.

Reflect

Right now during the pandemic, you have the gift of time and space to focus on yourself and your redirection. It is an opportunity to ponder the next chapter and next steps.

Use your creativity and out-of-box thinking about opportunities that you would enjoy and find fulfilling. Talk to important loved ones – family and friends – in your social circle and share what you are thinking.

New ideas, new directions – your redirection – can come from the spark of an idea that you discover during this unique time in human history.

Once you have found your redirection, take the time needed to map out and plan it.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your redirection.

Canada cares. Volunteering and donating are foundational activities in our country. We get involved and support others. We inspire each other when we work together towards important community goals.

And it’s never too late to make a difference. In fact, John Hillman, a 101-year-old Second World War veteran, is walking 101 laps around his retirement home in Victoria, British Columbia in order to raise money for charity.

Hillman was inspired by Captain Tom Moore in the UK. Captain Tom completed 100 laps and raised an incredible £23m.

In turn, Hillman is inspiring others and making a difference in his community — at age 101.

What does Hillman inspire you to do?

In my work, I look forward to opportunities to work closely with people who are in the process of redirecting. Individuals can be interested in occupational change, volunteer work and/or civic engagement. Regularly, I get requests for Redirection sessions. This involves working with people as they discover the ‘next challenge’.

I am thrilled to announce that another Redirection Lab Workshop series will be offered in Innisfil beginning later this month. These workshops are by pre-registration. Please contact me if you want additional information.

The small group workshops are rewarding and fun. The participants gain a lot from the Redirection series and I enjoy leading and facilitating them.

Here are some comments from past workshop participants:

“Thank you for running this course. I found it very interesting and I looked forward to each class. I highly recommend it to others wanting to find purpose and satisfaction in their retirement.”

Debby

“I thoroughly enjoyed your course and the chance to do the workshop as a small group and interact with my peers was amazing.”

Susan

“I enjoyed meeting people who are dealing with similar issues and appreciated having committed time and support to work on important issues.”

Carol

2018 – A year of potential and new opportunity

Happy New Year. The best time for new beginnings is now as the new year begins.

New mindset. New shift. New direction. Redirection.

Congratulations on your retirement. Now it’s time to redirect.

Congratulations on intentionally contemplating your future retirement.

Redirection…because you don’t know what is just around the corner.

The time is ripe to figure out your next challenge and your next chapter.

Vital engagement. The time is now.