Bermudian retiree Gwynneth Dorothea Butterfield had more than 27 years of experience in the banking industry, but until taking a Seniors Learning Centre (SLC) class had no idea how to pay a bill online.

The SLC, located at the Bermuda College in Paget offers outings and classes in everything from line dancing to art and digital photography. It is for anyone over age 55.

"Before taking an SLC class I had no clue about the computer," said Ms Butterfield who is 75 years old.

Since last May, Ms Butterfield has been putting her new found skills to good use as president of the SLC.

"This is like giving back," she said. "That is what I am doing."

Ms Butterfield, has been involved in SLC since 1991, a year after it was founded. Early on, she took a number of different courses including line dancing and digital photography.

"Unfortunately, my functions here are now so enormous, I don't have time to take classes anymore," she said. "But I sometimes get to go on an outing with a group."

When The Royal Gazette met with Ms Butterfield the SLC was planning for a Christmas party and trip to the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Their members were to be given a presentation on the new Bermuda currency series to be released next year.

Ms Butterfield said the SLC has changed tremendously since 1990.

"Membership has more than tripled," said Ms Butterfield. "We started with about 34 members when I joined. Now we have close to 900 members."

Ms Butterfield worked for the Bank of Bermuda for many years and was the first woman of colour appointed a supervisor in any Bermuda bank.

She was supervisor of savings in 1971 and then became a banking officer in 1978.

Last year, she was named Cambridge Who's Who Professional of the Year for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of Bermudian financial services.

Even though she is now retired, her life could hardly be described as sedate.

"To begin with, I am a life member of Meals On Wheels, and a life member of the Bermuda Diabetic association," she said.

She is also a member of the Young at Heart Seniors Club, and has been a justice of the peace since 1987.

"The first words out of everybody's mouth's is 'oh you can marry people'," she said, "but I can't actually marry anyone in Bermuda.

"I sign people's passports. I can deal with several documents. Some functions you don't want to perform, like performing an arrest. If you see something going on that is not correct, you can do something about it."

She said her passion in life is seeing that others get some of the benefits that she has been afforded.

"I get out of the SLC a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment," she said. "We have revised the by-laws and the constitution. We have had a lot of success with the day to day running of the organisation."

She said working at the SLC is not only like a full day job but a night job as well.

"I have an assistant called James Brown," she said. "He assists me with the treasury functions. He has been a great help to us here. I could not function without the help of Mrs. Janice Trott, our executive director, and Annette Simmons, our office administrator."

Ms Butterfield said keeping the SLC going was an enormous project.

"One person here is scheduled to work 12 hours, and could work 16 hours in a week. The other is scheduled to work 16 and sometimes you can find her here much longer. These ladies are very dedicated employees of the seniors learning centre for a mere token."

The SLC currently has eight volunteers who work "spasmodically". The organisation is in desperate need of an accountant.

"If there is anyone out there, please come and help us," said Ms Butterfield. "Right now we would take anyone who wants to help us, they don't have to be a senior citizen. Now and again we will have someone to come in and give us a few hints about running things. We are expecting someone to do that fairly soon."

One of the issues the SLC faces is finances. Their current budget is around $60,000 a year.

"We can only charge so much for courses," said Ms Butterfield. "We are now a registered charity. We are appealing for donations to help us run it day to day."

In May, 2009 there will be a new slate of officers for the SLC.

"I think this time there will be quite a few new ones," said Ms Butterfield.

"There are some people who have worked for quite a while and would like to move on to do something different or become retired."

Ms Butterfield grew up in the Beacon Hill area of Somerset in a family of four. Her mother passed when she was just 14 years old. She was brought up by older relatives.

"We were dependable, so we were able to move on," she said.

For more information about the SLC telephone 239-4029.