Happy New Year! Sisters Sanctuary Social Happenings

Are you currently a member of Sisters Sanctuary? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Sisters Sanctuary is now two years old and going strong! If you’ve joined our private Facebook group, you know that it’s the ultimate online social media space designed exclusively for women to get together and share our journeys of health, wellness and happiness in a safe, supportive, members-only environment. No drama, just a healthy daily dose of laughter, love, support and celebration created just for you by Sisters From AARP. Not yet a member? It’s free to join, so visit today and invite a friend!

"Daily check-ins have helped a lot of us feel less lonely and more energetic and hopeful during these challenging times."

2025 Highlights: Motown, Museums, Mimosas, and Matching Outfits

Chi Town Sisters Sanctuary Gathering

Courtesy Jacquelyn DeLane

We’ve celebrated birthdays, served looks, offered solutions to sticky problems, shared self-care tips, posted pics of memorable moments, uploaded morning motivational graphics and even shared streams of our Sunday services. The jokes and hilarious reels members post give us the giggles. Daily check-ins have helped many of us feel less lonely and more energetic and hopeful during these challenging times.

Another very enjoyable outcome has been the many side chats that started with “who lives in my city?” and progressed to friendships, face-to-face meetings and fun group outings.

“I love that we can come together as Black women and have fun and not a bit of drama,” said Michelle Hammonds, 66, an administrative assistant, who explored several Texas-based chats and eventually organized a group in Southwest Houston. “One time, we did an escape room outing. We had three rooms, but spent the whole 90 minutes in one of them. That was a lot of fun and laughs,” she said.

In the past year, Hammonds’ group, with sisters aged 53 to 72, enjoyed 19 adventures, including Friendsgiving, wearing Kentucky Derby-style attire to a local horse racing track, attending a Motown symphony, visiting a Black cowboy museum, and making Galentine’s Day candles. Last year, six area groups, including hers, combined into Houston Soul Sisters Sanctuary.

“Our monthly restaurant meetups are like a mini family reunion,” said Jacquelyn DeLane, 71, retired high school administrator, of the group Chi-town Sisters South Suburban, which grew to over 100 members last year. “We always wear a specific color so we can easily recognize a new sister and exchange contact information,” she said.

The tri-state DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) Meet and Greet group facilitated a wide range of connections. Rev. Phyllicia M. Hatton, M.Div., 67, a marketing and business development specialist, and Karen McCadden, 62, an assistant vice president for a small community bank, came together to plan brunch at Milk & Honey, a Black-owned restaurant in Bowie, Maryland. Later, four of these sisters, along with some from New York and New Jersey, met up at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“While these are our more ‘formal’ outings, our friendships have extended far beyond them,” said Hatton. “Vera and I often bump into each other while running errands, and I’ve donated clothing to a DC women’s shelter through Nikki’s volunteer work. Karen and I frequently attend events together — from women’s basketball games at Bowie State University to professional fundraisers,” said Hatton.

Sisters From AARP would like to thank everyone who poured their time and talent into creating these wonderful, welcoming spaces for celebrating Black women. Now it’s your turn.

Sisters From AARP has worked to create groups for each region of the United States, with additional landing places for groups that were previously very active. You will likely find a chat of the previous name already set up. If you don’t, no worries. Join the main regional group.

2026 Goals: New Year, New Beginnings, and New Friends

Late last year, all of us enjoying this social journey encountered a digital detour, and we’re charting a new direction. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, decided to eliminate the chat feature in private groups. The original chats have been paused and are reportedly scheduled for removal this month.

As an alternative, Sisters From AARP suggested a migration to Messenger Groups. Key features:

• Multiple chats within one community.
• Separate from the private group, so members join via an invite link (see below).
• Up to 5,000 members per community.
• You can continue to create chats based on location, interests, hobbies, and more.
• Categories to organize chats.
• Members can suggest chats for admin approval.