Life According To GARP

About a month after Cyndi and I arrived in Grenada we decided to join the Grenada Association of Retired Persons (GARP). We thought we could meet some nice local people and perhaps help out a bit at the same time. As it turns out we are doing both and are having fun. We have become quite entrenched with this nice group of people and so we thought we should include a post on this site with a bit information about what we are doing with them.

GARP is a club for people 50 years of age and over and helps members to learn new things, join social activities and fun events, with valuable benefits to its members in Grenada. GARP wants people who have retired to come and share their life skills and knowledge with others. Rather than vanishing into the woodwork after retirement, people feel a sense of belonging, can learn new things and keep active.

Aside from social activities for conversation, dancing or book exchanges, GARP holds some interesting events to keep members busy such as movie events, learning a new craft like batik, computer training courses, and even an annual trip to Cuba. The main objectives of GARP are to get people out of their homes and help to them learn to live a long and healthy life, GARP initiates many health related services for its members to address their specific needs and provide advice.

GARP works closely with St. George's University medical programs to ensure professional results. Blood pressure and other vital signs are measured. A Diabetes Clinic is held annually (blood sugar tests). A Foot Clinic is held annually to allow members feet to be assessed and treated by professionals. Planning is underway for testing for cholesterol, parasites, dermatology issues, dental, hearing, eyesight, etc.

GARP's Cottage Industry helps to promote Grenadian crafts. Jewelry, garments, and other unique handcrafted items are prepared as part of the arts and crafts school sessions for members. Tie-dying and Batik sessions are popular with all ages. Public sales of the items created by our members are held with the monthly yard sales which gives members an opportunity to market their products and meet other members with similar interests.

GARP's Once and Again Thrift Shop has been an integral part of the many benefits offered to members since the beginning of the Association. There are many families in Grenada with very low incomes and therefore have this available is a priority. People from all over Grenada generously donate household items (clothing, kitchen goods, appliances, electronics) and many other things to be refurbished and sold by the Thrift Shop. Those who donate to GARP's Thrift Shop know that someone else will get renewed pleasure out of their donations.

As it turns out, we are involved in a lot of these activities as we have some organizational skills and can do stuff on a computer. We are busy with them almost every day and we even went so far as to design a t-shirt for them and helped to organize sales through local hotels and business outlets. Yep, that's me wearing it.

Cyndi is managing their Facebook Page and the official GARP website too. It seems we are both in a constant state of creating documents to be posted or to be hung up at an event, or making Q&A for the media, or preparing slide shows to be shown at public gatherings. We are also helping out with the membership files / data, and sorting out the many donations that arrive for the thrift shop. Busy busy busy....

Then we noticed that we are starting to miss out on some of the many cultural events that take place on the island, we were posting less photos in Facebook, and our suntans are diminishing somewhat. Yikes! We know our involvement with GARP is for a good cause, but we have to remember to take some time for ourselves, as we have a lot more of Grenada to see while we are here. We now try to mix our weekly events to include some time for ourselves - Grenada is beautiful and has many secrets - we enjoy finding all those great places to go while we get a great feeling helping out with the many GARP community support events and sessions. :)