CURAC/ARUCC
The College and University Retirees Associations of Canada/Associations de retraités des universités et colleges du Canada, (CURAC/ARUCC), is a not-for-profit federation of retiree associations at colleges and universities across Canada. It brings together some 52 member retiree associations (RAs) throughout the country and about 23 000 individual members of those associations. APRUO has been a member since 2003.
Its aims are:
- to coordinate activities that promote communication among member associations
- to share information about activities of member organizations
- to provide mutual assistance
- to speak publicly on issues of concern to the over fifteen thousand individual college and university retirees across Canada
CURAC/ARUCC holds an annual conference at a different university or college every year. These conferences attract about 70 delegates from across Canada. They feature roundtables on local retiree association concerns, speakers and workshops devoted to personal and national issues of interest such as health, finances, higher education, housing and travel.
CURAC/ARUCC maintains a website and publishes a Newsletter on issues of interest such as health, pensions, isolation, and senior-friendly communities. It carries out periodic surveys of the mutual benefits enjoyed by RAs through their host institutions. As well, CURAC/ARUCC has affinity agreements with several travel and insurance companies that provide members with attractive benefits at competitive group rates. These affinity agreements also benefit APRUO because of rebates negotiated by CURAC with insurance companies and travel agencies which are then shared on a 50% basis between participating RAs and CURAC.
Member RAs carry out a variety of activities. Some emphasize continuing contributions to their host colleges or universities, and to their communities. Some sponsor scholarships. Others are oriented to social and intellectual pursuits, or to particular activities such as hiking, skiing, lectures and discussions, taking courses, and visiting local attractions such as galleries, museums, concerts and nearby towns or urban neighbourhoods. For example, in the past, APRUO organized exhibition tours at the National Gallery, visits to new uOttawa buildings and gastronomy lunches at the Collège La Cité. Our sister organization ASRA (Administrative Staff Retirees Association) is invited to join us for these events.
Getting together through CURAC provides an opportunity to share experiences, including successes and failures, and to develop common approaches to issues of interest to university and college retirees throughout the country.