If you’ve just moved to Sarasota and Golden Gate Point and are looking for ways to meet people and learn about your new community, then becoming a member of GGPA was a good first step. You’ll make friends and learn a lot just by participating in GGPA activities. Whether you’re new to Sarasota or a long-timer, perhaps there’s more you’d like to know about how things work, who does what, where you might like to volunteer, which charities to support, how to learn about local issues – in short, how to become a full participant in community life. To help you get started, here’s a list of organizations and links to their web sites.
Sarasota Newcomers Club: To quote the website, “SNC is geared for people new in town to meet others and have fun!”. Membership is open to full-time residents of Sarasota who have been here three years or less. Dues are $150 for individuals or $240 for a couple, for three years of membership. It’s an all-volunteer organization and members are called upon to help in various ways – hosting gatherings, arranging group outings, etc. As you’ll see when you visit the site, there are lots of special interest groups open to ‘graduates’ who want to continue their connection with SNC and each other. Find out more by clicking here.
Meetup Sarasota: On this site you will find links to just about every kind of club or group you can imagine. There are groups for walkers, hikers, bikers, kayakers, singles, film fans, bird watchers, and on and on – there’s even a ukulele club. Each club portal lists its own contact information and membership requirements. Find out more by clicking here.
Engage Sarasota: Sarasota’s Chamber of Commerce website describes Engage Sarasota as “a community orientation program for executives and residents who are eager to establish business and civic relationships, meet area leaders, and want to fast-track their knowledge about the inner working of Greater Sarasota – all with a minimum investment of time and money”. Essentially it is a first-Monday-of-every-month series of luncheons with speakers, for a class of up to 50 people. Considering that lunch is included, the $194 cost is very reasonable. Registration will open in July for a September start and the class fills fast. If you’re a Facebook user, “like” the Chamber to get early notice and learn more. Find out more by clicking here.
Sarasota City’s Citizen’s Academy: Sarasota City Government offers an 8-week educational course, free of charge, for a class of up to 25 participants who meet on Thursdays from 5:30-8 PM at various locations to learn how city government operates. You can see the topics covered by clicking here. Applications for the class about to start this month closed in December, but you can call 941-954-2612 to see if there’s still room and to learn when the next class will start. Find out more by clicking here.
Sarasota County’s Civics 101: Sarasota County has its own version of a multi-week educational course, also free of charge, also meeting on Thursday evenings, 6-8:20PM at various locations. There are two modules – Winter (closed for 2019) and Summer, each covering different departments, and they can be taken in either order. Call 941-861-5000 for more information. Find out more by clicking here.
Sarasota Tiger Bay Club: The non-partisan group’s mission is “to promote community understanding of current political and social issues through public discourse and exchange of ideas”. Founded in the 1980’s and with over 700 members and growing, the Club claims to appeal to “the powerful, the connected, the politically savvy…”. Michael’s on East hosts the lunch time meetings, with costs varying depending on who’s speaking (the program with Jeffrey Toobin in February is already sold out at $75 per person). Annual membership is $100 for individuals, $150 per household, and there are varying-with-size rates for corporate groups. Joining the club is easy to do using the above link, and each event must be registered for separately in advance. Find out more by clicking here
To Learn About Nonprofits, Volunteering, and Giving: The Sarasota Community Foundation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation both offer opportunities to learn about and connect with any of the hundreds of social service, educational, or cultural nonprofit organizations in our part of Florida. If you already have a fund at the Sarasota Community Foundation, call Jennifer at 941-955-3000 to participate in Third Thursday visits to selected local nonprofits, or call 941-486-4600 at the Gulf Coast Foundation to find out more about their lunch time speaker’s program called Better Together. If arts are your thing, the Sarasota Cultural Alliance website is a good place to do some exploring; and for the complete list of all the nearby worthy causes you might consider supporting, go to The Giving Partner, find out more by clicking here.
There you have it – a good start on ways to get to know Sarasota, whether you’ve been here a month, a life time, or any amount of time in between. Let us know of others we should add to the list.
Judy Mower (464, La Bellasara) has provided this information for new and not so new residents of Golden Gate Point who would like to know more about the area.
Our thanks to Judy for volunteering to put this together for us!