Founder's Blog: Janice Chia
- I am often asked why a young person like myself would want to start ASPIRE55? When I first brought up the idea and brainstormed it with fellow co-founder, Yiing Ching (YC), we talked about it with our family members in mind. How would they age, where would they live, what type of activities and services they would need if they were to continue living in their own homes. As such, ASPIRE55 has been and will always be a family oriented village, where we bring our families and friends together, and we welcome new members into the ASPIRE55 family.Grandma, then at 80 years old has always been one of my biggest inspirations for my focus on the ageing sector. When I brought her on a cruise recently, she was walking stronger and more steadily than people over 10 years younger than her. Since a year ago, she has been regularly introduced to different activities and new friends. She works out twice a week and she loves chatting with younger friends. When she goes to the park downstairs, she loves practicing English with our Caucasian neighbors. Something I have learnt is that simply telling our loved ones to go out, go exercise, go make new friends, go take up a new course, does not work. If you care about your them, take the time to accompany them through the first step. Many of our members first visit to our club is accompanied by their friends or family members. Sometimes, all they need is just a little encouragement and support from us when we are trying to get them to try something new.