44GOOD TOKNOW
Meet three enthusiastic Aussie wo
living with purpose at 50, 60, 70+Julie Tylman
ENCOURAGING
MINDFUL GIFTINGFormer Sydney bankerJulie, 52,
had an idea for a novel digital
business with a friend – making
gift-buying a charitable affair
Thoughtful gifts can help to bring
people closer but we live in a world
where a lot of stuff gets thrown away.
Both my business partner Ali Linz
and I have twin boys. When they were
younger and we were going to children’s
birthday parties we realised people
often turned up with the same gifts,
which seemed really wasteful. Andit’s even harder now to buy something
for $20 that won’t be thrown away.
We thought there had to be a better
way. We wanted to make it easier to
buy more useful gifts by chipping in
smaller amounts as a group and we also
wanted to make it easier to have the
option of giving something to charity.
In the three years since we started
grouptogether.comwe’ve raised more
than $120,000 for registered charities.
Whenever people make a contribution
they can nominate a percentage for
charity. We arrange a lot of donations
to Make-A-Wish Australia, the RSPCA
and many types of cancer research.
It makes us feel good because that’s
money that probably wouldn’t have been
donated if our service wasn’t around.Lots of people use it for milestone
birthdays but you can use it for any
group gift – even organising things
like a spa day or lunch – because it
takes the awkwardness out of having
to chase people for money.
It would’ve been easier for us to go
back into corporate life as our kids were
getting older but this is what makes us
happy and keeps us going every day.How we
found our
ikigai
Debra Kolkka
BLOGGINGLA
DOLCE VITALiving in both Brisbane
and Italy givesDebra,
64, plenty to share with
her blog followers and
house guests
About 20 years ago my
husband Jim and I came to
Italy for a conference and
I decided then that I wanted
to live here; not full-time
but for part of the year.
Five years after that we
were back at a little towncalled Bagni di Lucca in
Tuscany and that’s where
we bought an apartment.
None of it was planned- it just fell into place.
The reason I started the blog
(bagnidilucca.wordpress.com)
we had lots
f friends and
amily wanting
ocomeand
it and I needed
place to put information
bout how to get here. But
owIdoitbecauseit’sso
uch fun. I have more than
500 followers, take lots of
hotos to put up on the blog
nd really like adding to it
every day or so.
If you’re thinking of
starting your own holiday
rental or creating a blog, just
do it – follow your heart.
I had no idea what was going
to happen when I started butit’s opened up a whole other
worldforus.Aswellasthe
apartment, we’ve also built
a house nearby called Casa
Debbio which we’ve been
renting out for five years.
People say to me that I’m
soluckytodothisbutit’s
notluck: it’s making little
decisions to do it bit by bit
every day. It gives me a lot
of happiness and I’d rather
live modestly in Brisbane so
I’m able to travel overseas.
It’s just so beautiful in
Italy and I love sharing
this experience with other
people through the blog
or when they visit.➤
➤