On Aug. 6 the Bill Library will host representatives from the Boston- and Norwich-based Elderhostels, who will speak and provide information regarding continued learning for those age 50 and older. The event is part of the ongoing One Book One Region program at the Bill Library, which promotes life-long learning through book discussions, movie presentations, and special events.
One of the main speakers at the Aug. 6 event will be Bette Schiffler, past president of Adventures in Lifelong Learning (ALL), the non-profit organization based out of Three Rivers Community College. Schiffler, who has been with ALL since its inception 13 years ago, has seen the program grow immensely in a relatively short amount of time.
“When I first started, I remember thinking to myself, ‘We’ll never get enough people in to keep this program running for a long period of time on a volunteer basis.’” Schiffler said. “But it has worked remarkably well. We have a number of instructors that have been with us for years and continue to volunteer their own time and effort, which allows us to offer as many
classes as we do.”
ALL was created in May of 1995 when Gene and Florence Frank approached Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) with the concept of starting an Elderhostel similar to the one they had participated in at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Enthusiastic about their idea, TRCC’s administration offered its support. By September of the same year, ALL was ready to offer a handful of classes, which more than 75 people joined.
Thirteen years later, ALL now has more than 25 volunteer instructors every year and sees more than 200 people over the age of 50 sign up for classes every semester.
The non-profit organization offers a full year of classes (one fall semester and one spring semester) for $15 per person and $8.50 for each additional person that joins from the same household. And as Schiffler explained, class topics vary.
“We have classes in the spring and fall, and the classes are many and varied,” Schiffler said. “They could be a based around a movie discussion or a book discussion; we have an ethnic series where people from different backgrounds come in and talk about their life and where they’ve come from, and their experiences. We have gone to local churches for two reasons: one to learn more about the various religions, and to learn about the history of the buildings themselves and the architecture involved. We try to offer as wide a variety of topics as we can.”
One of the main focuses of Schiffler’s discussion at the Bill Library will be to dispel one of the common misconceptions that she feels keeps attendance lower than it would be otherwise.
“There is a misconception of the program that you have to have a college education to join, and that’s not true at all,” Schiffler said. “We try very much to dispel that but because we are hosted by the college, people assume that to be the case.”
With the next semester of classes beginning on the last Friday in September, Schiffler and supporters of life-long learning like Bill Library’s Senior Assistant Librarian Marty Hubbard, who helps to run the One Book One Region program, want to continue to spread the word, and show those over age 50 the fun and joy of continued learning.
“Certainly friendship, meeting new people, and becoming friends is a big aspect of the program,” Schiffler said, “and, of course, keeping the mind busy and learning new things all the time. Even though there may not be homework or assignments or anything, these classes really keep people involved, interested, and constantly learning new things.”
For more information on the Bill Library’s One Book One Region program, contact Marty Hubbard at 464-9912. For more information on Adventures in Lifelong Learning, contact its office at the TRCC Continuing Education Department at 885-2608.