Wider Circle’s Stories From The Circle: “This program changed my life”: How Laure found her circle

When a member misses a meeting, Laure is usually the first to check on them.

In this edition of Stories From The Circle, meet Laure, the heart of her Wider Circle community. She keeps members connected, points them to the support they need, and makes sure no one slips through the cracks. It’s a role she knows from the other side. Laure came to Wider Circle closed off and shy, and when ear surgery later set her back, it was her community that checked on her.

We hope her story reminds you what it means to look out for one another.

Laure S.

“We Check on each other”: How Laure Became the Heart of Her Community

Laure once kept to herself. Today, she’s the one her Wider Circle brothers and sisters count on.

Laure is deaf in her left ear, and meeting new people had never come easily to her. When she first joined Wider Circle, she was carrying “a lot of stress and anxiety” and kept to herself. “Entering Wider Circle, I was in a dark place,” she said. “I was sheltered. I didn’t want to talk to anybody.”

Wider Circle reached out and invited her to an event. When Laure arrived, she found members facing challenges like her own, sharing their stories and supporting one another. At first, she mostly listened. Over time, she began speaking up, and eventually she shared her own story. “Wider Circle brought me out of my shell,” she said.

Twice a week, her Wider Circle community gathered for chair Zumba, and Laure joined right in. Before long, she was one of the most active members in the group. “It has helped me with motivation and exercise,” she said.

The more events Laure attended, the more she found herself learning. “I learn something new at each and every Wider Circle meeting,” she said. Soon she began passing that learning along, encouraging members to keep up with their mammograms and checkups.

But when surgery on her inner ear left her dizzy and off her feet, her Wider Circle community showed up. Members and facilitators called to check on her and sent cards, letters telling her to hang in there, and gifts like coloring books to keep her busy while she healed.

When stress and anxiety build, Laure knows exactly who to call. Many members in her group understand what she’s going through, and she has their phone numbers. When she needs to talk, she calls, and sometimes they call her just to chitchat. “Wider Circle does help me with my anxiety,” she said. “I have a wonderful group of Wider Circle brothers and sisters who I connect with on a regular basis. We check on each other. I know for a fact I can count on them.”

“Wider Circle is my safe haven, like a second home. The members are wonderful. We became a family.”

Laure wanted to give back to the community that had shown up for her. “I’d love to continue and see this group flourish,” she said. So she became a Wider Circle Ambassador and started the Ambassador Facebook group, bringing together more than 200 people with uplifting messages and updates.

Laure calls anyone who misses a meeting, and if someone has missed a few, she works with the Wider Circle team to arrange a home check. Because she attends so many meetings, she always knows what’s going on in her community. When members need support, she knows exactly which group or facilitator to point them to, and she’s quick to pass along health reminders. That’s why Patricia Gordon, a Wider Circle Senior Community Engagement Specialist, calls Laure “the Wider Circle news van.”

She also helps lead the conversations at her events, creating a space where members who don’t feel comfortable speaking up, just as she once didn’t, can share. “We listen and don’t judge,” she said.

When Laure mentioned she wanted to learn sign language, a new class got underway, and she’s now helping lead it. Other members with deaf family members have since joined.

In 2025, four of her facilitators nominated her for the Wider Circle Ambassador Award. Laure was named “The Heart of Wider Circle.”

“This program changed my life,” Laure said. “I trust and believe in Wider Circle.”

Thank you, Laure, for sharing your journey and for showing up for your community the way it showed up for you. And thank you to our sponsors for helping make stories like Laure’s possible every day.