Thank you very much for choosing to join Amazing CARE Network. We truly believe you have taken an important step in your journey to age with grace and dignity - by growing your knowledge, growing your financial resources, and growing your network of people and partners that achieving this goal requires.

Part of the Amazing CARE Network value to all members, is continuing to add Amazing people. We sincerely hope you will invite your personal network(s) to join and in the next few pages you will find some ideas designed to inspire and support you in starting your own Amazing CARE Network.

Creating an Amazing CARE Network does require some effort, and we do understand starting a network may not be for everyone. For those that choose to, they find educating their friends, family and colleagues as well as the access to exclusive Amazing CARE Network forums, incredibly rewarding.

If at any time you have questions, need help or have a great idea we can share with other networks please do not hesitate to contact us - the Need Help? section of the Amazing CARE Network website lists all the ways we can be reached.

Once again, welcome to Amazing CARE Network. We look forward to getting to know you better.

The short answer is - absolutely! Amazing CARE Networks have been started by people with diverse backgrounds and interests and range from the most outgoing woman you know to the most introverted. The common connection is recognition of the fact that aging, especially in America, can be incredibly challenging and is best approached as a team activity.

Starting a Network simply means you are the first in your group of friends, family and/or trusted colleagues to have joined Amazing CARE and you are willing to introduce others to this unique group. How your Network operates and develops is entirely up to you, based on what works for you and your Network.

Whether you have a few hours a year or lots of time on your hands, you can create a Network that will benefit you and your members. Your only 'must-do' is to invite others and gauge how active, or passive, the group wishes to be. Don't be surprised if the Amazing people you invite are also eager to be a part of organizing a meeting, leading a discussion or just supporting you in making your Amazing CARE Network a success.

Each Member manages their account and accesses Amazing CARE Network services independently - you have no obligation to be involved. Your members may look to you for guidance and advice just like they may already do now with your social or professional relationship. To that end, we provide material via our website resources and partners. We hope that your and your Members will find information they can use to spur meaningful dialogue between and among your network. As a result, we trust that you and your friends will be forming deeper bonds and relationships from sharing the knowledge and experience of the aging process.

The rest of this guide is designed to share ideas about how to get started and how to maintain a thriving network - and we look forward to hearing from you.

The best approach is to personalize the experience for yourself and your Network. One size does not fit all though there is a four step process we think will help you be successful.

Amazing Care Network four-step process:

Step 1: Create your Invite List

Step 2: Create your 'Invitation'

Step 3: Follow-up with Enrollment Details

Step 4: Complete Enrollments

The following sections discuss each step and provide inspiration for how to proceed. We hope this material is helpful, and encourage you to be creative!

  Step 1: Create your Invite List

Deciding who to include in your Network, and how to get the word out, is likely the most important step. Below you will find our advice on how to tackle the task of selecting your network members.

The first step is to identify invitees. Here are a few questions to help you identify the ideal group, or groups, for your Network(s):

• Do you already have a group that meets regularly and shares personal stories and provides emotional support to one another?
• Do you have friends you've always wanted to introduce to one another?
• Are some of the people you know currently dealing with issues of aging and illness?
• Who would you call first if you really needed help?
• If you plan to meet physically, does the geographic location of invitees make sense?
• Are the personalities going to work?
• Are the people respectful of widely varying points of view and personal choices?
• Varying views and values can add richness to the conversation, however, a member who believes her point of view is the only 'right' one can be chilling to the vitality of the network

Ideally your Network will have 4-10 members. You may want to create multiple networks if:

• You have a lot of people to invite
• Your people are clustered in multiple geographies and prefer meeting in person
• You have groups of people that naturally group together, but may not work best if combined

For your first network, we recommend you start small. Invite no more than 10 people initially and if you get a great response and have more people to include, then start your second, third, etc. network. You may also want to recruit someone in your first network to start a second network, sharing the load as well as the knowledge.

If you do not get enough response from the first 10 people, work your way down your list until you have filled the number of slots that makes sense to you.

  Step 2: Create your 'Invitation'

'Invitation' is in quotes as your invitation could take any number of forms. Based on your group and your own style, you may choose to simply send an email, maybe you prefer hand-written notes or want to get everyone together for a meeting, skype call, or a meal to discuss the idea of Amazing CARE Network before asking them to join.

We find that your recommendation is the strongest reason for people to join you - it's Amazing how many people will respond if you simply explain what you find interesting about Amazing CARE Network and ask them to join. It is important for people to fully understand what they are signing up for and here are some things we recommend to ensure that happens:

• In your initial communication - phone, in person or email - include information about why Amazing CARE works for you and why you thought of the person you are inviting.
• Are they someone you trust and want to take the journey of aging with?
• Do they have special knowledge that would be of value to the group?
• Are they facing something that Amazing CARE can help you both navigate together?
• Provide the website link so they can do their own research - www.amazingcarenetwork.com
• Invite them to join you at an event to experience Amazing CARE Network.
• Invite everyone to something social - it could be an online event or in-person - to share your thoughts and hear theirs.

Expect that it might take a little Q&A and that people may want to consider the idea for committing. And please do not hesitate to reach out to Amazing CARE Network if something comes up that you can't answer.

  Step 3: Follow-up with Enrollment Details

Once you have done your introduction and personal invitation event, you then login to your Amazing CARE Account, Create your Network, Add your members names and email addresses, and click 'Invite'.

A standard invitation email will be generated to your members letting them know you are inviting them to join your network. This email will include the name of your Network and the Description of the Network as you entered it into the website. If you plan to create more than one Network, this can be very helpful in keeping your Networks organized.

The email includes a link that will automatically enroll them to your Network if they begin the enrollment process by clicking on the email link. This email cannot be personalized, which is why we recommend a more personalized 'Invitation' in Step 2 before generating invitations from the website.

You can also provide your invitees with your Network code and a link to the Amazing CARE Network website in your personal communication so they can enroll in your network even if they do not have the original email and link available. This personal communication, in addition to the system invitation, is recommended as the system generated invitation may get stuck in some spam filters or firewalls.

  Step 4: Complete Enrollments

After providing the enrollment details both through the website email invitation and your personal communication, you can login to your Amazing CARE Network account to see the status of each member.

For each enrollee, consider sending a brief personal note of congratulations to thank them for joining you on this journey. Amazing CARE Network will also send your members a welcome and thank you note encouraging them to login to the website and explore content and resources

For each invitee that has not enrolled, consider following up to ensure they remain interested and ask if they need help with the process. Some people may feel more comfortable enrolling with a bit of hand-holding. Others may just be busy and need a reminder to finish, still others may want to have a follow-up conversation with you.

Above all, be respectful of those who may decide Amazing CARE Network is not right for them now, or simply not right for them at all. Not everyone may share your enthusiasm and that's perfectly fine. And if they change their mind in the future, be ready to welcome them warmly.

Now that you've formed your Network, it will be both more fun and more effective if it thrives. Depending on the personality of your group, this may mean getting together regularly, sharing the latest joke on aging via email, coming to an Amazing CARE Network event as a group or simply checking in to see how everyone is doing. However you choose to operate, here are some tips you may find useful.

Tips to helping your network:

  Stay connected

Your network may be the women and men you already meet regularly for coffee, a walk, at work or elsewhere, so staying connected may be as simple as bringing an Amazing CARE question, or questions, to the group to discuss.

If your network does not already meet for another reason, we recommend planning something social to just get together and enjoy one another. Amazing CARE addresses serious topics, but above all we want you and your Network to have fun and build deep connections. A good balance may be to spend 25% of the time you plan together on an Amazing CARE topic and the rest of the time sharing an activity, getting to know each other or catching up on each other's lives.

When you get together, you may want to pick something from the Amazing CARE Network newsletter, Resource or Partner page to spur conversation. Here's a list of topics that can kick off conversations in your group:

1. How would you define success in aging? How close are you to realizing that success?

• a. a. What do you need to achieve success?

2. What is on your bucket list to do/ places to see?

3. What 3 things are you most grateful for?

4. What makes you feel happy?

• b. How has aging freed you from fears and anxieties?

5. How has aging contributed to your fears and anxieties?

6. What is your mental model of aging?

• a. c. What/who shaped your views of aging?

7. What are you most fearful about as you face becoming older?

• a. d. What would you do if you were not afraid?

8. What would most help your family prepare for the time when you're the one needing help?

9. What would you want your family and/or friends to handle when you're no longer capable of living independently?

10. Where are gaps in your financial understanding of what you'll need to prepare for your golden years?

11. What financial tools would be most helpful to you to gain that understanding?

12. If you're the care-giver for loved ones, what three things do you most need help with?

13. What housing options would you like to explore for when you no longer want to maintain your home?

14. If you or your spouse/significant other have a chronic condition, how could that affect where you live in retirement?

15. How are you investing in your physical and emotional health?

16. What would most help you maintain optimum physical health?

17. What resources would be most helpful to you to maintain optimum health and positive outlook?

18. How is social media (facebook, twitter and the like) affecting your ability to stay connected with family and friends? What tools would most help you optimize your experience?

19. Best jokes about joking that you want to share?

20. New things you've learned in aging with grace?

21. When are you old?

  Discussing difficult topics

Difficult topics tend to be just that, difficult, either because they are highly controversial or highly personal. Handling each takes a bit of care. Above all mutual respect and the shared understanding that Amazing CARE Network is forum for education, support and sharing, NOT debate, is a helpful context to set.

Discussing controversial topics is an area where respect for differing values and decisions is critical. All members need to feel safe expressing their views without being judged, or worse, ridiculed or lectured, by other members. As the leader you may want (or need) to remind others of this before a difficult topic is discussed and encourage an open dialogue based on facts, personal experience and most importantly mutual respect.

Personal topics are difficult as members are likely to have varying comfort levels sharing their own circumstances or experience. We find that it is best to simply allow people to choose whether they wish to talk about something or not - without judgment or coercion. Even in Networks of very close friends, some people may wish to keep their personal journey simply that, personal. This can be for a number of reasons and Amazing CARE Network respects them all. By creating an environment of mutual respect you are doing all that is needed to allow people to share what they wish at their own rate and pace. Sometimes just being around engaging people can be the best help.

  Add a new member

Now that your Network has begun, you need to decide how to add a new member. While you are the leader, this may be an area where you will want the opinion of your members. It's best to decide up front how you will make this decision. Majority votes, first come, first served, leader veto etc. are all models that might work for your group.

  Drop an existing member

Members may leave your network for a variety of reasons, they may move, they may pass away, they may simply not be interested in continuing. Mechanically you simply login to your Amazing CARE Network account and delete them from your Network. This does not affect their Amazing CARE membership, just their status in your network.

You may also find there is a member of the network who you wish to remove for your own reasons. As with any issue, it'bs often best to simply talk to the person and see if there is a resolution. The person may be unaware they are not in-step with the group and be willing to make an adjustment or agree that Amazing CARE Network is not for them.

Given how carefully you selected your invitees, these circumstances are rare. If you do find yourself facing an issue with a member that you are not comfortable handling, please do not hesitate to contact Amazing CARE Network.

  Get help from Amazing CARE Network

We love hearing from our members - and especially want to know how we can help you. The Need Help? section of the website contains the most current contact information and is the best way to quickly be connected to a member of Amazing CARE staff.

If the Network is not working for you, there are a few things you may want to consider before deciding to disband.

• Would delegating more to other network members be helpful?
• Would meeting more/less enrich the experience?
• Is it time to ask another member to take on the organizing role?
• Is the issue one or two members vs. the whole network?
• Could I discuss the issue with one or two members - or maybe the whole network - and see what kind of solution we can come up with as a group?

If none of these suggestions sound right for your circumstances, please contact Amazing CARE Network and we will be more than happy to discuss options with you.