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ALTON - Senior Services Plus is hosting a “Speed Connections” speed-dating event for seniors on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the School House Grill located at 2603 North Rodgers Ave. in Alton.
Emily Jackson and Sydney Peckham with SSP shared more details about the program on an episode of Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com. According to Peckham, this event came about due to popular demand.
“It was actually a request from the people,” Peckham said. ”They wanted to see speed-dating and we were like, ‘Game on, let’s do it,’ so we put it together. There was not really anything like it around near us, so we’re hoping it’s a big hit.”
Speed Connections is geared towards adults 55 and older who are seeking romantic companionship or friendship. To avoid any guessing games or mixed signals, nametags will be given to participants which indicate whether they’re looking for friendship or romantic companionship.
Tickets are available for $10 each and can be purchased via the SSP website. You can also call Peckham at 618-465-3298 ext. 116 to register for this event, or register at the event on Friday.
“Something that’s huge in the older adult population is social isolation,” Jackson added. “It’s something we’re passionate about addressing, and we have a lot of programs and services that do that.
“This is just one more avenue that we can help older adults make friendship and/or romantic connections - you could come for both, you could come for one or the other, and just have that additional socialization opportunity in your life.”
Peckham added that while this is the first year they’re hosting this event at SSP, they hope to host it again next year if this year’s Speed Connections is successful.
To find out more about the Speed Connections event and the work SSP does, see the full interview with Jackson and Peckham at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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