About Third Age Barrie
Learning is ageless…and so are you!!! Whether you are 50 or 95, we hope that learning for the sake of learning inspires you! Research has shown that people who continue to learn new things well into their retirement are healthier and happier than those who don’t. That’s the philosophy behind Third Age Barrie, known by most of us as TAB. We are a group of retirees just like you who are excited about life, learning and the opportunity to be vibrant contributors to society!
The learning opportunities that we co-ordinate are offered several times a year at prices that we hope will be affordable to most. We don’t do this to make a profit, we do it for ourselves and for people who want to share in our enthusiasm for lifelong learning.
We hope that you will join us! TAB is a dynamic and interesting way to learn, explore new ideas, discuss topics and remain young in mind.
Vision
Third Age Barrie builds a community of mature learners to enhance their participation, knowledge, understanding and well-being.
Mission
Third Age Barrie (TAB) is a volunteer organization dedicated to providing intellectually stimulating and entertaining presentations for mature learners living in Barrie and neighboring communities.
The Origins of Third Age Learning
The Third Age Learning Movement was established in France in 1973. It rapidly spread through Europe and the United Kingdom and first arrived in Canada, (Sherbrooke Quebec) in 1975. Worldwide, there are now many organizations offering third age learning opportunities through universities, community organizations, and independent groups like ours. There are now over 50 such learning groups in Canada with Third Age Barrie being among one of the newer ones.
Founding Committee
Our founding members came together in March 2014 and launched TAB’s inaugural series to a sellout audience in the fall of 2014. Since then presentations are offered several times over the course of a year.
Who We Are Today
In March 2019,Third Age Barrie was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation. The Board consists of volunteers with diverse backgrounds, who are committed to providing lifelong learning opportunities in the Barrie community and area. We hope to provide a means for activating the brain, increased socialization with like-minded peers, and overall life enrichment.
The Board is supported by several committees, including Program, Communications and Marketing, and Finance.
TAB is a member of the Third Age Network of Ontario, which enables us to access information on potential speakers, make informed decisions on best practices, and benefit from networking opportunities with other later life learning organizations.
Current Board Members
Retired Board Members
TAB Volunteers
We would like to thank all of our volunteers for their ongoing support.
Community Partners
The Barrie Chapter of Grandmothers and Grandothers provides refreshments and parking assistance at each of the events. Donations from the refreshments go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
Grace United Church provides the venue for lectures, the use of audio-visual equipment and space for committee meetings.
Admin Support Team
Nanci Cardwell – Admin support
Greg Sargeant – Accounting Services
Keigan Christie – A/V Tech