Sisterhood and Physical Strength: the Uplifting Work of Berwyn’s 40+ Double Dutch Sub Club
Berwyn 40+ Double Dutch Club members come together at Bounce Sports Recreational Center in Berwyn, Ill., on Saturday, March 4th, 2023. The club originally started in a parking lot with two friends in 2021 and has grown since then. Chelsea Zhao/Cicero Independiente.
By Chelsea Zhao
Carefree laughter surrounds the room as you hear the energetic music. The rhythmic taps of the double dutch ropes come from none other than the 40+ Double Dutch Club’s women.
While in motion, their gray hair blurs, wrinkles smooth into smiles, and hands meet together in Tweedle-Lee-Lee and high-fives, which represent the radiant beauty of the club.
There are two rules to join the Double Dutch Club: you are above 40-years-old and you are a woman.
Monica Kirkland (right), captain of Berwyn 40+ Double Dutch Club, led the group in the line dance on March 4th, 2023. From a group of three, Kirkland was determined to commit to community and fitness as the club branched out. Chelsea Zhao/Cicero Independiente.
The 40+ Double Dutch Sub Club in Berwyn started in 2021 with two friends in a parking lot. Monica Kirkland is the captain of the sub club and Denise Neicy Brooks-Hymon is the co-captain. Kirkland, a resident of Berwyn for 18 years, said the club grew after attending Oktoberfest.
Kirkland said she talked with Berwyn Mayor Robert J. Lovero last September of 2022. Lovero called three days later and dedicated the Bounce Sports Recreational Center for the group’s Saturday meetings.
Kirkland said the group focused on three main points: friendship, fitness and fellowship. Residents outside Berwyn, Oak Park, Maywood and Wicker Park, visit the group weekly. People discovered the group through word of mouth, TV or social media.
Friendship, fitness, and fellowship, the three values of the Berwyn’s 40 + Double Dutch Club which began in 2021 with three people and has since expanded to include clubs in other countries. Chelsea Zhao/ Cicero Independiente.
Attendance is free. However, official members purchase a $40 T-shirt with their name and age. Members collectively contribute money for workout equipment and snacks. Even after their weekly meeting, members get together once a month for other outside activities.
“It’s based on sisterhood, getting together, praying together, helping each other, supporting each other,” said Brooks-Hymon, co-captain of the Berwyn sub club. “So, it’s just like one big ball of love.”
Vicky Bryant, a 52-year-old member from Maywood, said the group is a stress reliever. Women in the group check in with each other and offer tips for services that others might need.
“That’s why the friend circle is so important, because we try to uplift one another and we support one another outside of double dutch as well,” Bryant said. “This is sisterhood.”
Sheila Bogacz, a 58-year-old member from Maywood, said the physical joy of the activity and the commonality with other members brought her closer to the group.
“People my age are complaining about their knees, I’m surprised that I can jump the way that I do,” Bogacz said. “So it’s nice to find somebody that has the same energy as you, that wants to do the same things that you do, that likes the same music as you. So it’s like I found all these people are my twins.”
Two rules to the Double Dutch Club: you are above 40- OLD AND a woman. Berwyn 40+ Double Dutch Club has created the feeling of sisterhood and community around women over 40 to come together with shared interest and enjoy being active together. Chelsea Zhao/ Cicero Independiente.
After about an hour of physical activity, Kirkland whistled and called around twenty members to the center. Hand in hand in a large circle, Kirkland led the group in a prayer of people in their lives and thankfulness for the club.
For many members, 40+ Double Dutch Club is a channel of support and commitment. Mary Ann Dickens, 60-year-old from Wicker Park, joined the club when she lost her house. “It was like a connection for me,” Dickens said. “It was like a bond to keep me focused on mental status. And I like the people, because they're caring, committed and connected.”
Shemeka Silver, a 49-year-old from Montclare, said the group helped her find relief after the passing of her mother.
“So, this made me forget about, you know, what I was going through and everything like that. So you forget everything,” Slider said. “Once you walk in the door, all your troubles are gone. You just like, go back to your childhood.”
As an organization with sub-clubs across the country, the 40+ Double Dutch Club first started eight years ago.
Pamela Robinson originally founded the first 40+ Double Dutch club with her friend Caterina Dyer-Taylor on June 2, 2016 in Chicago. They came up with the idea at a barbecue on Memorial Day. Robinson said while all the kids were busy on their phones, she reminisced with other adults about their childhood.
“I brought it out and we started jumping that day,” Robinson said. “And during that 30 minutes that we were jumping, it made me forget about all of the issues that I was dealing with that were causing me so much sadness at the time.”
From a group of just seven, 40+ Double Dutch has grown to 50,000 members on its Facebook group, with more than a hundred clubs spread across 30 states and four countries.
Robinson said in putting her faith in God, she saw the group evolve from a diverse group to a sisterhood and a movement.
“If God can use something as simple as a double dutch rope to connect women, God can do anything,” Robinson said. “Because who would have thought that he would use something like a 50 foot plastic clothesline to connect women all across the world? We never would have imagined that.”
The club created an inclusive and diverse space for all women above 40. Outside 30 states in the U.S., the club also has members in other countries including Canada, Israel, and Germany. Chelsea Zhao/Cicero Independiente.
Editorial note: this article has been updated to correct the role of Kirkland in the club and include the name of the co-captain of the Berwyn Sub Club.
Chelsea Zhao is a graduate journalism student at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and is a Berwyn resident. You can read more of Chelsea's work on her site here.
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