Shags Shagrin shares how he came to create a fully-functioning online community platform for several hundred senior adults who were about to lose an existing platform that brought them together during COVID protocols.
Within 24 hours of learning that sponsorship of a current community platform would be ending, a new one was put together by volunteers. Within 72 hours, over 100 members joined. And within a month, it was a federally and state recognized 501(c)(3) organization with nearly 140 members.
The speed and success of the effort speaks to a widespread challenge - the current unspoken epidemic of senior adult loneliness and isolation, which is impacting the lives of many individuals across the globe.
Shags is a long-time legacy Rotarian who has been involved in community building and service for most of his life. He served on the boards and as an officer of many local professional and select national organizations during his working years, and is a two-time Rotary Club Past President, once in Ohio ('89-'90) and once in California ('08-'09).
Shags is semi-retired, so when he became Medicare eligible in 2021, he joined an online community for senior adults dealing with loneliness and COVID isolation, and looking to connect with others around common interests. It was sponsored and funded by his Medicare Supplemental Insurance plan. While over 30,000 people had also joined, only 250 or so were considered "active," defined as those visiting the community more than once a month, so the sponsor shut it down.
The community members were crushed, so Shags sprung into action to create an online space for the connections to continue. This is the story of how The Playground Senior Circle, a non-profit online adult senior community, came to life.
To learn more, go to:
https://theplaygroundcircle.org/
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley
Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin
Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound
#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary
