How Baby Boomers Are Finding
a New Groove in The Next Chapter™
Tempe Connections Cafe Links Boomers to Resources, Meaningful Community Engagement through Work and Service
What do you call retirement for America’s more than 76 million baby boomers, most of whom don’t plan to truly retire? For baby boomers transitioning to the next phase of their lives – the time between mid-life and old age – the future looks remarkably different from the retirement years of their parents and grandparents. The future also holds many questions as boomers begin to transform another chapter in the life cycle.
With a focus on helping boomers prepare for this new life stage, the Tempe Connections Café, nestled in the stacks of the Tempe Public Library, is the first location of its kind in the Valley to offer a community gathering place specifically designed to connect boomers with resources and services as well as meaningful engagement opportunities through work and service.
While all visitors to the library can enjoy the full-service coffee bar complete with baristas, two outdoor patios, Web-ready PCs and
wi-fi connection, the primary focus of the café is to connect boomers with resources that help them answer the question, “What’s next?”
With the cafe open, Tempe Connections staff and volunteers have turned their attention to launching life planning workshops, a peer mentoring program, lifelong learning opportunities, health education lectures and workshops, and Transition Talks with people who have retired and are engaging in meaningful civic activities. Proceeds from the café will go toward supporting Tempe Connections programs.
“We want to be a gathering place where boomers can meet others who are interested in charting a path toward what they want their next two or three decades to look like,” says Rebecca Bond, Tempe Connections coordinator. She notes that volunteer concierges will be available daily in the café and an adjacent Tempe Connections program room to meet with boomers one-on-one to identify specific resources and programs that match their interests.
ABOUT TEMPE CONNECTIONS & THE NEXT CHAPTER INITIATIVE:
A collaborative project, Tempe Connections consists of more than two dozen partners including the City of Tempe, The Friends of the Tempe Public Library, St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Tempe Chamber of Commerce and the ASU Department of Continuing Education. Tempe Connections is governed by a hands-on, 15-member community advisory committee that has guided every step of the planning, construction and operation strategies.
Tempe Connections is just one of four Maricopa County Next Chapter projects that are joining community resources including libraries, community colleges, city governments and nonprofit organizations to develop programs to serve boomers in transition. With support from The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, Next Chapter projects are also underway in Chandler, Mesa and Scottsdale.
A program of Civic Ventures, a national nonprofit organization working to help society achieve the greatest return on experience, The Next Chapter™ initiative provides expertise and assistance to community groups across the country working to help people in the second half of life set a course, connect with peers and find pathways to significant service.
Click here to read more about The Next Chapter initiative in Maricopa County.
CONTACT:
Teri Metros, Tempe Public Library Director, 480.350.5551
Judy Tapscott, Tempe Social Services Director, 480.350.5432