What’s Next…. neighbors supporting each other and our community as we age
Our purpose. To help members age at home safely, comfortably, & independently while remaining engaged in the organization and the broader community. We will accomplish this with educational events, social activities, facilitation of volunteer engagement, creation of communication infrastructure, & encouragement of responsible planning for end-of-life.
~ April Newsletter ~
Missed the Annual Meeting? Here’s a Video of 2023 Events
And a link to our facebook page with Geoff’s Sing Along/Poetry Reading
Members, Not getting the newsletter delivered to your e-mail mailbox? Check your junk mail and make sure hello@whatsnextbaltimore.org is on your “approved” contact list. Email us if you need help.
It all started when...
a group of us got together and started talking about how happy we are that we've made our homes in southeast Baltimore and how we'd like to stay here as we age. We want to keep in touch with each other, remain active, continue to volunteer and support each other. We decided to find others who wanted to join us, plan some activities to help us get to know each other and find some structure to help us support each other and our community. See what we're up to and let us know if you'd like to join us.
From the beginning…
We started in the fall of 2016 by identifying neighbors committed to staying in their homes around Patterson Park as they age. In the past few months we've found over 50 neighbors who want to stay in the neighborhood, stay active in the community and meet others with common goals.
In the winter of 2017 we had a number of small house gatherings to talk about shared excitement and concerns about aging in this community. We've had two larger gatherings where we all came together in one place to meet, socialize and brainstorm ideas.
In the spring of 2017 we formed committees, each charged with planning a few events. Using a list of brainstormed ideas of activities we thought would be fun and helpful, each committee began to meet, organize an event and invite the group.
Over the summer and fall of 2017 our members enjoyed these smaller gatherings. We launched our website at a celebration party in December of 2018 and asked interested neighbors to register as members through our website's “join us” page.
The steering committee incorporated the organization with the State of Maryland in May of 2018. The legal documents defining our organization are available for viewing here:
Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws
Conflict of Interest Policy
Our third annual meeting of the membership was held virtually on January, 30, 2021. A new board was elected. Our annual membership dues for 2021 was set at $10 a person. Visit the Join Us page to pay your dues.
In 2021, we launched a number of on-line interest groups, Winter Play Groups, to help our members keep in touch with each other during, have fun and share interests during the shut down. Some of those groups have continued with in-person meetings. A newly formed Program Committee met in September 2021 to plan ongoing activities and special events. Our Communications Committee will welcome new members and help members connect through our website, facebook page and newsletter.