WHAT is a Village?

 A Village is a group of neighbors joining together to: 

• help each other!
• enjoy activities together: potlucks, coffee hours, wine tastings, trips both on and off island… you name it!
• give help to those who need it, with everything from rides to town, dog walking, garden care,  help around the house, and whatever else you might imagine.

It’s your village, and you can make it your own.

WHY create or join a Village?

• to help your neighbors… and be able to ask for help when you need it.
• to connect, make friends, and support each other

The Biggest Why: So that everyone who wants to can live in their own home for as long as they wish to, as independently as possible.

No one needs to grow old alone. Instead, let’s grow older together.

WHO can join or create a Village?

• Anyone 55 and older who lives on Vashon or Maury Islands.

Not 55 yet? Join as a Volunteer! You’ll still get all the benefits of connecting with your neighbors!

HOW does the Vashon Senior Center help your Village?

• The Villages Program Manager is your concierge and helper: Maria can help your village as much as you need and however you need: with member signups, vetting volunteers, helping village members with technology and access, organizing events and trips … whatever your village needs.
• The villages van & driver: Villages can use the brand-new 10 passenger van to take field trips. Grandparents and grandkids can go to the zoo or Northwest Trek, a group can see a play or go to a museum… whatever you imagine!
• A dedicated email routed through the Senior Center (such as townvillage@vashoncenter.org) - so that neighborhood leaders can communicate with members easily (and not be dependent on one individual’s email), and so that your Village history can be preserved for those who come after you.
• This Helpful Village website: a way to stay in touch with each other and a way for people who need help to ask for it easily. 
• A neighborhood iPad: to help village leaders sign up or orient new members, help someone access the Helpful Village website, email all the members with neighborhood news…

In a nutshell: The Senior Center provides the Villages Program Manager and all administrative support: funding, liability insurance, background checks for Village Volunteers, technology and software, and everything listed above!

Is there a fee to join or create a Village on Vashon?

• Nope. Joining a Village is free right now, thanks to the King County VSHSL grant.

Ready to Enroll? Click here for Membership Form.

To find out more, contact Villages Program Manager Maria Glanz at villages@vashoncenter.org or (206) 929-0823.

A Brief History and Thanks: The Village to Village movement began 20 years ago in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. Now there are Villages across the United States. To learn more, visit: vtvnetwork.org. Thanks to a grant from the King County Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy, the Vashon Senior Center is able to help neighborhoods on Vashon-Maury create their own Villages. So we can all grow older together.

Funding for this program is provided by