I am Yvonne and I set up AWOC Dorset with my husband Tad in October 2021.

Following a move to Dorset sixteen years earlier, and at a time in our lives when we found everyone else (or so it seemed) having children, I found support in the national AWOC Facebook group. Intrigued by the invitation to attend a webinar on setting up a local group, I attended a presentation by the founder of AWOC, Kirsty Woodard. We were then supported with advice on how to go about this, including setting up an AWOC e-mail and a local Facebook group.

Members soon started joining and we tried various ideas before we found the events which people wanted. Lakeside fish ‘n’ chips restaurant is a hit! Whereas community centre events did not work for Dorset. Now we have settled into monthly, social meet-ups where we have an average of 10 people meeting for a meal. New people come and go, and we have regular, loyal members as well. We also invite people for a Xmas zoom on Xmas Day, in case anyone is on their own and wants to chat, as well as the obligatory Xmas meal at a local restaurant.

We are a geographically spread out and rural area, and we are yet to expand into the whole of Dorset. We form a stable group of approximately 60 members who have the option of meeting up knowing that people will not question why they do not have children and who benefit from not being in a group of friends who talk constantly about their grandchildren – and the inevitable awkwardness which follows, which we are all familiar with.

We are really glad we started a local group, but we are not at the end of the journey yet, as there is more to do. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the whole country benefitted from local AWOC groups? We need you to help your local community – you can do as much or as little as you want – each group runs independently and controls its own agenda and activities: ranging from purely social meet ups to obtaining information and working with local organisations to ensure that the needs of people ageing without children are represented and included in policy, planning and services for older people. If you would like to explore forming a new local group or for help in finding a group close to you, please contact AWOC through our Facebook group or email us at info@awoc.org.uk.

Yvonne Wiacek is the co-founder and coordinator of AWOC Dorset and an administrator of the AWOC UK Facebook Group.