Ground Zero Friends

Think of our group name, "Ground Zero", as a metaphor for starting over after divorce or death of a spouse. Most of us have experienced one or the other, and we have found that having fun activities and shared experiences help people move forward to a happier future. We are all about making friends in real life! Just be yourself, have fun with new friends in a safe environment and nice places. Do you part by talking with people instead of sitting in a “safe” spot and being silent. Be open, talk about yourself and ask others about themselves. Don’t stay home and send messages to members you have not met trying to arrange a meeting. Meetup is not a dating website. At GZ, we all expect that first contact should be in person, in a group setting, at an event.

We are a friendly singles (and couples who met at GZ as singles) social group of age 50+ men and women that live in the Charlotte, NC metro area, including nearby parts of South Carolina. Many of our members have moved here from other areas of the USA, and some have lived in other countries. Members form friendships within the group, and these friendships often evolve into lasting couples relationships. Couples that meet at Ground Zero are always welcome to continue as members of Ground Zero, even if they get married. Thus, Ground Zero is not strictly a singles group, we are about helping people move forward to a happier future.

We try really hard to plan a good variety of events and strive to have a several events on our calendar for every week. Events may include outdoor concerts, festivals, dinner & dancing to live music, dining at nice restaurants, meet & mingle happy hours, bowling, movies and other special events. In 2022 GZ hosted 158 events!

Most of our activities are in south Charlotte and Fort Mill, SC, since that is where the many of our members live. Please consider driving time to events before joining, and look for other social groups near where you live. We also require that your Ground Zero profile picture clearly show your face alone, not in a group photo, so that other members will recognize you as part of our group at social events. We also want your email address so we can contact you if necessary.

Ground Zero has a 30-day free trial period with annual dues of $20 per year paid online when members join. Renewal dues can be paid online or paid by check or in cash to an Organizer. New members can pay dues online using a credit, debit, or prepaid gift card. Former members can pay online using the pop up box that appears when you log in. Dues are used to pay group operating costs and to compensate the organizers. Meetup will remove any unpaid members at the end of their trial period, or the grace period for renewal of dues.

There are expectations for members when signing up for events! The following behaviors are considered disruptive and members should avoid them or risk having their membership privileges limited (timeout on events) or being removed from GZ.

1) NO Shows - when you sign up for an event, you have an obligation to the host and other members to keep your RSVP up to date. No shows deprive other members from attending when on the waiting list. The event host will contact members that "no show" to learn why they did not come or change their RSVP. Members that don't correct this behavior after several warnings, may be removed.
2) Canceling within 24 hrs of an event - members on the waiting list need time to be notified. Members that repeatedly cancel with short notice will be moved to the not going list for a month or two.
3) Members showing up without signing up - when seats are limited by reservations, members showing up should not sit in seats reserved for members on the going list. For open events where there’s no limit, let the host know you are there so you can be added to the went list.
4) Derogatory comments and griping should not be posted in the event page on the website or meetup app. If you have a complaint, send it by private message to the host.

All of the Organizers and Event Hosts at Ground Zero are in it because we get great joy in seeing people of good faith and character form bonds from common experiences. We want to create lasting friendships and couples relationships, and help people move forward to a happier future. We all have empathy for each other because of similar life experiences.  Join us! Have fun with us! The more GZ events you attend, the more you will become family!