Joining U3A

Why Join U3A?

Being a member of U3A carries a lot of benefits and research illustrates our contribution to those who are retired or semi-retired.

A study, from the Universities of Yale and Pittsburgh, and reported in the New York Times, suggested that older people who have positive perceptions of ageing and who are relatively vigorous, a sign of good cardio-vascular health, are less likely to become frail later in life. The study found that exercise, particularly walking, gave good long term benefits and these occurred even if people had started to exercise recently.
The HSBC “Future of Retirement Research 2006” also looked at attitudes to getting older. They found that, so long as they are healthy, most people want to do something active in their retirement rather than just resting and they may be providing a new model of active retirement. In the UK 80% of the people interviewed had positive associations with retirement (compared with 68% in Europe as a whole) and of these 56% regarded retirement as an opportunity for a whole new chapter of life, 12% as a continuation of what life was, 28% as a time for rest and only 3% as the beginning of the end(!).
The question “How do we want to spend our retirement?” was asked and three quarters said that they wanted to spend it with family & friends, two thirds wish to travel, half wish to take up a new hobby and just over a quarter wished to continue education. All of which you can do through U3A.

Together we can provide a positive & active retirement for us all!

Contact the Membership secretary:

Lillian Younger
103 Dovedale Road,
Seaburn Dene,
Sunderland
SR6 8LS

The Membership Secretary will send you an information pack on request
Speak to any member of the Committee who will be happy to help you
Come along to our regular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of each month (see point 3 below and “What’s on”)

Although all members, together with any visitors they may bring (see below), are welcome to attend the general meetings, attendance at this Wednesday monthly meeting is not obligatory to maintain membership.
At these meetings there is an opportunity to find out what is happening in the various groups (see below) in the following weeks and to sign up for any of the events. If you cannot attend the Wednesday meeting, then contact the relevant group leader.
Visitors are welcome to the general meetings. However we ask that membership is taken out after a maximum of three visits.