Seniors Search for Romance through Speed dating


Speed dating is a popular modern matchmaking technique. Created by Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, its fans claim that it simplifies meeting 'the right one', it's time-saving, and it possesses an intuitive understanding of first impressions, so important to romance and marriage.

Speed Dating TV episodes have garnered it fame – Frasier, Sex and the City, Sixty Minutes II, and many others. Not surprising, then, that Speed dating has become popular with the senior set.

The Weisman Delray Community Center in Florida saw the need to present a safe and effective way to allow single seniors to quickly meet and find potential later-in-life romantic partners.

Speed dating has shown success in Active Lifestyle and Independent Living Residences.

The format was based on Rabbi Deyo's. There were 10 men and 10 women with five minutes of chat per couple. Then, the men moved to a different table.

Gertrude Bial, a volunteer at the center, agreed to Speed date. She met a man who still calls her twice a day. He’s the first man she’s dated since being widowed three years ago. “I make it clear: no hanky-panky,” she told The Jewish Daily Forward.

“I’m not ready. But he likes to hold my hand; he can give me a kiss,” she told the media source.

Speed dating for seniors is an indication of the growth of seniors looking for companionship. As the Boomers age alongside pre-existing older adults, the number of 55+ dating sites increase .

The search for friendship and romance continues.

Categories: