What is ElderFire?
"Elder" to describe who we are now: adults who have achieved skills, knowledge, and wisdom that we can now use, together, to realize our own goals, to support each other, and to enhance and enrich the wider world. “Fire” to describe the spark of creativity, the heat of passion for the things we love and care about, the warmth of connection and community, and the rapid spread of good ideas.
Today, ElderFire is a community of ideas, resources, connection, and support. Someday soon, it will also encompass other kinds of communities: residential, educational, healthcare, online, and more. Whether as supremely practical as a money-saving resource for services, as emotional as a support group for members facing difficult challenges, or as nurturing as a seminar or an incubator for a world-changing idea, all ElderFire communities share fundamental traits. Each one will offer an environment of creativity, trust, encouragement, cooperation, resources, and mutual care and caring. Above all, ElderFire Communities are dedicated to the sheer enjoyment of living — to helping its members make life exciting and fruitful.
To see the founder of ElderFire, look at Harold Shapiro.
To see its future, look in the mirror.
There's a thrilling moment in the development of community.That's when someone with an idea discovers that he or she is not alone — that others share the idea, and can support it, and help build upon it. The result is something wholly new, and truly greater than the sum of its parts.
That's the genesis of ElderFire. Before founding ElderFire, Harold Shapiro built literal communities: he developed commercial real estate in Southern California. Always fascinated by the meaning of "community," Harold and his wife, Sandra, explored many approaches to building it, whenever they could spare the time in busy lives of work, activities, and raising a family. Harold made four observations about successful communities:
- The process of creating communities transforms individual members. Each person has a broader definition of self. A deeper connection with the group. A sense of inclusiveness and cooperation that leads to a richer, more fun, more meaningful life.
- All the powerful changes that happen when individuals form a community can be extended out into the wider world. Creating inclusiveness and cooperation on a global scale can be achieved with the same skills and attributes that build individual communities. Each community is a microcosm of the larger order.
- Community-building skills increase individual happiness. The same skills and principles that individuals learn as they form communities help them enjoy more satisfying lives — achieving personal goals, having fun, experiencing joy, and living a life that plans for the reality of life.
- One set of individuals has the will, the wisdom, and the experience to make these changes a reality: THE ELDERS.
The title of this page is About Us. And that's precisely what ElderFire is about: us. To see the founder of ElderFire, look at Harold Shapiro. To see its future, look in the mirror. |
