Getting Started

Eldering is a way of being and relating to the world. It is about being engaged in life, sharing who you are and contributing to the future. We offer you the following information with the understanding that there’s no formula or ‘magic recipe’ for Eldering.

You can start by signing the Eldering Manifesto.

To begin practicing Eldering, download Toward Wisdom in Action (PDF, 200kb), our suggestions on how to take those first steps in the context of your existing relationships.

More structured opportunities for Eldering may be available through:

• Intergenerational programs and organizations
• Job opportunities
• Volunteer opportunities, organizations and networks

If Eldering means belonging to a membership organization dedicated to people 50 and over to you, consider joining AARP (The American Association of Retired Persons) or CARP (The Canadian Association of Retired Persons).

"Constant change is capable of breaking any business, organization or cooperative effort—no matter how noble the purpose—if the people involved are resistant to change."
—Jim Selman

“Elders are mentors who teach the young; mediators who resolve civil, racial, and intergenerational conflicts; monitors of public bodies who serve as watchdogs of city hall and Congress; mobilizers of social change; and motivators of society who urge people away from self-interest and toward the public good.”
—Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Ronald Miller
From Age-ing to Sage-ing (1995)