About Us
We are a community-based, nonprofit, grassroots organization, formed through a group of caring neighbors who want to build a caring and supportive community of neighbor helping neighbor.
We connect members to a wide array of practical support services and social connections that enable older adults to enjoy a rich, independent, and healthy quality of life when they choose to age in their homes and communities.
Aging in Place – The Woodlands, originated when two senior adults in Grogan’s Mill and Panther Creek saw the need for better transportation options as they age. The Woodlands, as defined by geographic boundaries, is already organized by Village.
In the words of one of the Founders, Ken Dorland:
“My wife and I decided that we would retire in The Woodlands. It had everything we wanted except one thing. There’s no public transportation, and as you grow older that becomes more important.
It took a while discussing it with neighbors and friends. We talked about what was possible, and what could we do. We came up with this idea of ‘ride-share’ and we were talking about it for Panther Creek, just a local neighborhood thing. And then one day I read an article in the Chronicle that Bruce Cunningham over in Grogan’s Mill – he was President of The Grogan’s Mill Association – was starting a concept for aging in place for Grogan’s Mill. It would be a service organization that would provide various services for the members to help people live in their homes and not ‘have’ to move to an assisted living facility or something like that.
When I saw that, I gave him a call and said “I have an interest in something like that in Panther Creek, maybe we could get together”. He had two or three other people that also called as a result of that article. So we set up a founder’s day. We met over at the local library and we continued to meet there for several months and gradually put this together”.
Part of A National Movement
The Village Movement started with Beacon Hill Village in Boston over 15 years ago and today there are over 240 open Villages and more than 100 in development in 41 states and the District of Columbia.