Who We Are
Board of Directors
Top row: Cheryl Avrich (past president), Silvia MacCon (MC, programming), Faygie Goodman (vice president and chair, programming),
Middle row: Nora Rothschild (vice chair, programming), Barbara Barak (President, MC, programming), Cathy Kreuter (secretary, programming),
Bottom row: Monique Isaacson (programming), Judi Bodnoff (treasurer), Marilyn Shapiro (programming)
We are a group of dedicated volunteers from Thornhill and surrounding neighbourhoods with a desire to share our curiousity and love of learning with our community. We are using our diverse professional backgrounds to develop a program of dynamic lectures on timely topics that we hope will engage and challenge participants.
Our Mission
To enrich the lives of those 50+ in Thornhill (Ontario, Canada) and beyond through affordable and engaging learning opportunities.
Our Beginnings
Thornhill Lifelong Learning Inc. began in April 2016 with a group of residents who had an interest in bringing learning and enrichment opportunities to active adults aged 50+ living in Thornhill and its surrounding communities. We talked to friends, family, neighbours and aquaintances and quickly realized the interest in and demand for such a program.
Our founding group was aware of a few similar programs within a 40-60 minute commute and wanted to develop a similar program closer to home. Our first lectures were held April 2017.
We are a Member of Third Age Network (TAN) of Ontario
With further research, we discovered the Third Age Network (TAN) of Ontario, an association of 31 groups across Ontario that operate self-managed, non-profit lifelong learning programs in their communities. Most of these programs sell out within a day of posting registration (clearly there is a thirst for intellectual stimulation and ongoing learning!). TAN and its members continue to provide tremendous support and assistance to our budding organization.
There are also many similar groups active worldwide - in the USA, in the UK, in Australia, and many other countries, giving us several models for us to consider in our own development.
“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”