GetSetUp has brightened Nadine's days

Liz Miller

GetSetUp has brightened Nadine's days

Find out how to make your days brighter too!

Nadine is an event planner receiving classes thanks to the Centralina AAA partnership with GetSetUp. She plans events from family reunions, weddings, parties to non-profit events that at times have upward of a hundred people in attendance. Nadine has done events all over the country. At one point she even hosted a family reunion for 225 people.

Currently, she is planning a Saturday, June 5th afternoon event to help those in need in the Charlotte, N.C area: “Caring for Our Neighbor the Homeless” event. Here members of the community who are currently experiencing homelessness will have the chance to get a free hot dinner, backpacks with needed hygiene items, clothing, masks, hand sanitizer, a bag with bread, jelly, peanut butter, Bibles, Daily Bread books, gift cards and more in a community outreach effort.

“It’s a lot of moving pieces. I established group leaders to help with certain aspects of organizing the event. “No one can do everything alone.”

Nadine has partnered with Block Love Charlotte, an established non-profit that feeds the homeless daily and Shades of Sisterhood, a nonprofit that she is a founding member of. Nadine is proud that Caring for Our Neighbors will be under the umbrella of Shades of Sisterhood.

Nadine belongs to five different women’s groups. Each one has its own vibe and personality. Some are with people she has known for over 40 years, and others revolve around Church groups, crafts, or doing good in the community.

As an event planner, Nadine’s world was turned upside down with COVID-19.

“I had to think outside the box”. The pandemic forced me to take all the Zoom, Google, photography, creating Zoom background, and Kahoots Classes. “I now host game parties for groups hosting parties anywhere in the United States. I was able to host my yearly Ladies Holiday party on Zoom including relatives from across the country."

These classes helped Nadine to create fun and interactive family reunions with game times, movie time, and lots of fun - even with the virtual nature of the events.

“Thank goodness for GetSetUp”

Nadine first heard about GetSetUp thanks to Josie Stewart, a member of Lovely Bell’s group the Crafty Sisters. Twice a month the group gets together to bond as they do whatever crafts or projects together over Zoom. During a meeting, Josette shared the fun she was having with GetSetUp and encouraged others to try it. Nadine decided to test out a class and has been with us ever since.

“I tried it and liked it. I’m at 49 active days, 182 classes taken and 10920 wellness hours. I’ve been in my Coronavirus bubble by myself for about 19 months. It’s a blessing to see and talk with other like-minded people as often as I want to. I like being able to look at the schedule at any given moment and launch to a new adventure; It’s wonderful."

Upskilling technology skills to adjust to the pandemic

Prior to the pandemic, Nadine knew almost nothing about Zoom. She realized she needed to up her skills in Gmail and Zoom when the pandemic hit to keep in touch with those she loved and keep up her work. The initial people she turned to in order to teach her at times made her feel bad she wasn’t catching on quickly.

“I knew I needed to find elsewhere to learn. What I really love about GetSetUp is that everyone is willing to help. I love the concept that everyone can learn from everyone. Everyone brings something to the table.”

She started with beginner Zoom classes and worked her way through different skill sets on Zoom. She found the Zoom background class most useful to create fun and interactive online events.

Nadine.
Look like a Zoom superstar

Officially Nadine is retired, but she stays an active part of her community through service and her membership in different organizations like the local business association. Just recently, she helped to plan an 80th (Covid-19 safe) birthday drive-thru party to highlight an important member of this community who had dedicated her life to the community. Over 150 cars showed up to drop off gifts, share a warm birthday message and get a cupcake. While not a usual birthday, it’s a creative fix for these current times.

Nadine is hoping that like after the pandemic of 1917-1918 had the roaring twenties, there will be a fun-filled time for people to get back out and celebrate together! Like many people, Nadine has been mostly alone due to the coronavirus now for over a year. It’s been hard on her. While she has two kids, one is a teacher, and the other works in customer service and plays in a band, so she couldn’t be around them as much as normal.

While she’s waiting for life to get back to “normal,'' she’s gotten big in the GetSetUp exercise classes.

“I broke my femur in 2017 and fractured my knee in 2019. I wish I had known when I was recouping about these chair classes and floor classes. They are perfect for those with injuries. Plus, it gives me a reason to get up at 7 AM and start my day for these classes at 8 AM.” Stacy is my new best friend! I love every day there is a different 8:00 class; I don’t get bored. Being able to request a tape of each session is a great perk."
Get Moving Fitness Series

Trying new skills helps Nadine stay upbeat

Nadine continues to try new classes like how to manage passwords and be aware of fraud. She enjoys the classes that teach about games online and neighborhood connections like Nextdoor. Plus, just the other night she tried Mindful Meditation.

“I love Glenda. She’s laid back and her classes are great. Glenda’s classes didn't make me sore. By the time I finished meditation I was so Zen; for the rest of the night and had the best night's sleep!”

Mindful meditation

Another aspect that Nadine really enjoys is that every class has someone there to help throughout the class as tech support. That way if there is ever an issue that she has not been able to hear someone she can check with the support staff who help her to fix it.

“I’m the type of person and I know there are a bunch out there, who get frustrated if I can’t figure things out. I don’t want to be on a chat line trying to figure it out. It’s nice to have someone do things specifically to help my case. The folks on the support lines are so patient and kind.”

Additionally, Nadine likes the flexibility of classes. When she wants, she can put them on in the background just to brighten her day. Last Saturday she tuned in to Music from the 60s and 70s.

“I love being able to sit here on a Saturday evening, I would have been bored stiff otherwise. As I listened to the music. I was doing my email; some other people were dancing. As each new song came on, I’d rack my brain to try to remember the title. It really just brightened my day.” This class is another reason why I love Glenda.

“It gets to be lonely. One day I was on brain games session;  I told the Guide these classes have really saved me from being insane. If I get bored, I can always hit a button and join a class. Even if you are just watching others on gallery view you realize that there is life out there!”

Join Nadine and other like-minded older adult learners in classes of your interests to learn from peers tips and tricks to keep your day brighter.

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