Singles can find companionship by joining a group that helps assure compatibility.
“You name it, and there is a group (that matches) your interest,” said Gail Prince of Evanston, a national expert on singles.
Tall people-women must be at least 5 feet 10, men at least 6 feet 2-who are 21 and over have the Paramount Tall Club, which draws predominantly singles from all over the metropolitan area (312-853-0183). If your interest is fine dining, you can join Single Servings, based in Oak Brook (708-954-0938). In the southwest suburbs, an interest in sports and recreation can be satisfied by joining the Southland Social Club (815-462-0005). And if you want to make new friends or need support, a host of other groups offer events.
Helpmates-which is for the recently separated, divorced and widowed-originated with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and has since expanded to include other Lutheran churches. The Orland Park chapter draws about 250 members from southern Cook County and parts of Will County and northwest Indiana, said president Jean Wiltgen of Tinley Park. The group holds weekly support meetings and also offers social activities such as a pinochle night, she said.
“Most of the people had been married for 10 to 15 years and are now divorced and getting back to the social scene,” Wiltgen said. “They don’t want the bar scene, and this is one way for them to get out and make friends.”
The Southland Social Club, started in October 1991, draws singles from Frankfort, Mokena, New Lenox, Orland Park and as far away as Kankakee and Chicago, said organizer Richard Prisby. The club has attended White Sox games together and has sponsored many recreational activities, including volleyball and floor hockey nights, said Prisby, a New Lenox resident who organized the group with brothers James and Stephen, also of New Lenox.
“The club promises a fun and easy way to meet friends,” Richard Prisby said. “The promise is fulfilled by bringing people together through team sports and organized events where the focus is on activity.”
Most singles groups accept new members if they show an interest in joining. However, two area groups screen prospective members.
United Singles, with about 400 members in its Joliet chapter and 100 members in its Morris group, verifies whether someone is single through references provided by potential members, said John Murphy, president of the Joliet chapter. Selective Singles takes it a step further. The organization, started in January 1992, invites singles to join only after conducting a personal interview, said president Eileen Messier of Homer Township.
The interview lasts 90 minutes and questions include what applicants are seeking in a relationship, what their character strengths are, the traits they like and dislike in their partners and the roles they expect to play in a relationship, such as lover, friend, provider, equal, etc.
“This is the answer to the question, `Where do you go to meet quality singles?’ ” Messier said. “Our members are busy. They don’t have the time or the tolerance for meeting people in bars. As you get older, your options for meeting quality people get slimmer.
“We have a very active social club,” she said. “And it is a very successful dating club because we’re putting like-minded people together.”
