Francis McGill

Founders, board members, and residents, Stokes and MaryJane Gentry are honored through the Gentry Lectureship

On Thursday October 22nd, global leader in environmental activism Bill McKibben gave the first of two speeches for Wake Robin’s annual Gentry Lectureship. Over 175 people, 150 residents and 25 Priority Depositors, from New England to as far as Denver, Colorado, listened to his talk over Zoom. After his talk, Mr. McKibben was happy to take questions and comments from the virtual audience.

For those who are unfamiliar, The Gentry Lectureship is named after Stokes and Mary Jane Gentry for their contributions as founders, board members, and residents of Wake Robin. The program was established in 2002 and has brought prominent figures from the government and economic sectors, as well as the fields of science, education, and the arts.

This year, residents organized the 2020 Lectureship around climate change and sustainability, creating a two-part program, “Crises and Change: Building a New Future in the Age of Climate Change.” The second speaker will be Mary Powell, former CEO of Green Mountain Power, who will make her address in December.

Former CEO of Green Mountain Power Mary Powell will address the Wake Robin audience this December

Bill McKibben is an author, environmentalist, and the founder of 350.org. the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement. He has spearheaded the resistance to the Keystone Pipeline and launched the fast-growing fossil fuel divestment movement via stopthemoneypipeline.com. His book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change; and his latest is Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Bill McKibben spoke to the virtual Wake Robin audience

Mr. McKibben entitled his lecture, A Crisis Inside a Crisis: What COVID-19 Might Teach Us About  Dealing with Climate” and he argued “that we must do everything we possibly can right now”  and “disrupt in a large way” to combat climate change. Noting that the world has already passed certain tipping points, he maintained we must limit the global temperature increase only to 2 degrees Celsius and not let it go to 3 or 4 degrees, which would be uninhabitable for current civilizations. 

A former science journalist and current Wake Robin resident was deeply impressed. “I took a lot of notes because I felt he was giving a tremendous amount of information and educating us on critical issues. One point that really stood out was his mission to organize older Americans to advance climate change reforms.”

For its part, the Wake Robin Residents Association (WRRA) has two active groups that research, promote, and practice sustainable measures campus wide. The Greens Committee provides information on reducing energy use and works on community recycling and composting in coordination with Environment Services. Additionally,  The Wake Robin Climate Action Task Force examines electrical and water usage, and promotes ways to cut back on those and other wasteful behaviors that tax and harm resources.

Concluding his address, Mr. McKibben gave some hope to a community eager to play an active part in the climate change movement. “The most powerful lesson of all is that social solidarity is necessary, and our job as individuals is to be less individual. ” Wake Robin continues to demonstrate that spirit.

Wake Robin residents love being active. Physically engaged, they swim in an indoor swimming pool, bike the country lanes around campus, and practice yoga and Tai Chi. Residents also nourish their minds through lectures, Inquire – Wake Robin’s lifelong learning program – and, fundamentally, reading and writing. Wake Robin has been a center for arts and letters since the beginning.

The library has 34 volunteers making it the great place it is

Even before the Community Center was completed in 1993, a library was installed on campus. It started just as a basket of books!  The Founders then solicited incoming residents to donate books, and once the Wake Robin Residents Associated (WRRA) formed, funding for a library space became top priority.

The design and implementation of the library was a great success, primarily because a few professional librarians – who were joining Wake Robin – oversaw its progress. Today, the library is housed in a brand-new space of the Community Center, adjacent to the reading room. It features a digital center equipped with a large Mac monitor, which serves residents well because many continue independent research projects. The thousand-plus book collection reflects resident interests and includes many bestsellers from the last five years. According to the Head of the Library Committee, Pat, there is a strategy in choosing new books. “The community here is very well read. They like to read the latest books and often make suggestions,” she said.

Borrowing books on the go due to Covid precautions

Outside of the library, there are a number of groups at Wake Robin that hone the skill of writing. The Memoirs Group meets weekly and welcomes all kinds of writers – from those residents who are polishing up an autobiography, to those just beginning to write about their lives. These days the group connects through video chat and listens to one speaker who shares part of his or her memoir for fifteen minutes, and then hears feedback. The range of stories are delightful, spanning childhood memories of farm life to unique career experiences. One member, reflected on the bond of the group, said “We trust each other and very interested in what each other have to say.”

The Vermont Humanities Book Club at Wake Robin attracts the inquisitive and analytical minds on campus. Popular each year, the demand to join the book club

Vermont Humanities Council’s Reading & Discussion program has been going strong at Wake Robin for over a decade

is always so strong that two groups are needed to facilitate discussions. The statewide program offers 250 themes and Wake Robin chooses one each fall and winter semester. Within each theme, residents read one book each month for four months and convene monthly with a expert discussion leader. Last year the group selected the US Constitution as a theme and read the Bill of Rights, among other documents. “The best part of the group is the discussions,” said Pam, who’s in charge of the committee that selects the themes. “The discussions are always riveting.”

The active life here at Wake Robin takes many shapes. Residents choose which path of joy they want to choose – and there are often many. You can come here to finish your novel or memoir. Or rekindle a passion for woodworking or quilting. You can learn water coloring from scratch. The possibilities are endless. Let your imagination roam.

Among the core Wake Robin values is Difference: Honoring the diverse backgrounds and worth of those who live and work at Wake Robin. Our twenty-seven-year history illustrates why so many interesting people, from various walks of life and professions, choose to call Wake Robin home. Many prospective residents learn about the community through word of mouth – from friends, colleagues, and even some from their very own brother or sister.

According to a 2015 resident-published Trillium newsletter, Wake Robin siblings made up more than five percent of the entire resident population. Five years later, the number of siblings on campus has increased and now includes an aunt-niece duo as well as a mother-daughter pair!

Wake Robin attracts families for simple, important reasons. It was founded by a grassroots organizations made up of friends and like-minded people. Furthermore, Wake Robin’s long-term health care model – which provides a continuum of care for all residents – provides a sense of security and peace of mind to residents and their extended families.

Family Values From the Beginning

The first set of siblings arrived when Wake Robin opened in 1993. An “original” resident, Ruth, who is now 102, shared a large corner apartment with her sister Frances; two more brothers moved in the year after. David, Ruth’s younger brother, was the last sibling to arrive in 2008. “My siblings took me by surprise. We put a deposit in way back with them,” David said, “and all of a sudden – whoa – everybody’s moving in!” David and his wife Dee followed in Ruth’s footsteps because they appreciated the healthcare model and culture of Wake Robin.

Brother and sister David and Libby 

Wake Robin empowers residents to be independent or engaged as much as they choose to be. David and Libby loved learning about different cultures and shared a passion for the arts. They even collaborated on a “Teaching about Inca Culture” course at the University of Vermont, where some of the students never even knew they were brother and sister! When David joined Wake Robin, he got involved right away with organizing events and participating in the chorus. Libby, on the other hand, values the community for its solitude. As a professional writer, she’s able to gain inspiration from the natural setting as she finishes working on a memoir and book of poems.

For Ginny and Betsy, Wake Robin has been the place to truly catch up. Ginny lived in Ohio for thirty years but always considered herself a Vermonter. “It was a homecoming when we came here,” she said. Her younger sister Betsy, who moved in three years after her, feels like she’s deepened her relationship with Ginny. “I love the small things about being neighbors. I make Ginny her favorite BLT sandwiches and we dine together and have a laugh when we want.”

Best Friends: Mother and Daughter Living at Wake Robin

Mom and daughter, both Wake Robin residents

The latest Wake Robin family connection formed just this summer when Jackie moved in two floors below her mom, Marjorie. They are the second mother-daughter pair in the history of Wake Robin! “She’s my best friend,” Jackie said. “Before, I attended events with her, so I got a chance to really get to know the sense of community here at Wake Robin.” The active culture resonated with both daughter and mother. They walk the trails together and both are very fond of woodworking.

Wake Robin invites all personalities and interests into the community. Joining the community means starting a special chapter in one’s life, inspiring healthy living among neighbors, friends, and as we’ve seen, even family. As another sibling Ellie stated, “it’s been absolutely the right place for us and I’m am so glad that my brother is once again a part of my neighborhood!”