In February 2011,
The Second Half of Your Life, a groundbreaking book that inspires women to rethink what it means to grow older was published by Penguin/Random House. Using the hormonal changes that occur around menopause as a springboard to transition from a woman's reproductive years to her self-productive years, it launched Jill into a journey to create The Second Half Foundation. All sales from this book go to fund The Second Half Foundation.
The Second Half Foundation (Reg. 1141988) was created in May 2011 with the mission of tackling loneliness and isolation for any person over the age of 50 years old. We wish to serve anyone affected by isolation from any background. We want to ensure that our growing population will have a place to develop more meaningful connections and continue to learn and grow.
In October 2012, The Second Half Centre opened its doors to the community in the NHS St Charles for Health and Wellbeing in North Kensington, London. The Second Half Centre has over 4000 members, 500 attendees each week and provides 90 hours of classes and workshops weekly and is run by Open Age.
On October 2nd 2016, The Second Half Centre, Diocese of London, Diocese of Middlesex, Open Age, Barclays Digital Eagles, City Harvest and Pret a Manger have piloted a new programme in London that goes to the heart of tackling the devastating effects of isolation in our older population. The Church of England are taking a lead role helping to create new church communities where churches become hubs of the community on days not of worship and promote active ageing.
Second Half Clubs launched in two local Churches in Westminster in November 2016: St Stephens on Rochester Row, SW1P 1LE and St Paul's on 5 Rossmore Road, NW1 6NJ where people can come together as a group to enjoy group activities and give purpose to enrich their lives of their community. Rediscovering the pleasures of old hobbies and finding new ones, excercising, feeling involved through volunteering, mentoring and teaching, making new friends, learning how to use iPads, staying connected to family friends and their community as well as learning new skills will be the mission of Second Half Clubs. Two more have launched in Janaury 2019: St Andrews Church on Greyhound Road and St Mary's The Bolton in Kensington. Our fifth church All Saints Fulham will be launching after Easter 2019.
The Second Half Foundation was created and founded by
Lady Jill Shaw Ruddock CBE.
Please click on this
link to see The Church of England’s post on
Second Half Clubs and the wonderful work being done with our partners
The Diocese of London, Open Age, Barclays Bank: Digital Eagles and The Second Half Foundation to help make churches hubs of the community on days not of worship.
The Second Half Foundation, Registered Charity Number 1141988
In the past year, the Second Half Centre has been buzzing with fun and life, delivering almost 6000 exercise classes from Tai Chi to Zumba and over 2300 arts and culture classes from watercolours to Italian conversation.
This
report from The Second Half Centre (April 2024–March 2025) shows strong
engagement:
Total
Attendances:* 8,812
Unique
Members:* 895
Total
Hours:* 11,192
Demographics:
Gender:*
Predominantly female (750 out of 895), with only 122 males.
Age: Most
members are aged 70–79, followed by 60–69 and 80–89.
Ethnicity: Majority
are White, followed by Mixed background, Asian, and Afro-Caribbean members.
Class
Activity:
Physical
Activity dominates with 5,768 attendances.
Arts
& Culture*: 2,307
Adult
Learning: 611
Outreach:
126
The
Second Half Centre in NHS St Charles in North Kensington, London is
clearly a vital resource for older people, particularly for physical health.
There’s room to grow and improve male engagement and expand outreach
efforts.
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