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Adopt-A-Native-Elder (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Community Health and Economic Empowerment
└ Addressing community health
└ Addressing community health
To combat food insecurity on the Navajo Reservation, Adopt-A-Native-Elder provided food assistance and firewood vouchers to hundreds of Navajo elders. The cash assistance helped older adults access healthy, culturally appropriate food, as well as fuel for heating and cooking. During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Navajo Nation recorded the highest per-capita rates of infection and fatalities in the U.S. To help keep older adults safe, the organization also delivered medical supply boxes, which included personal protective equipment, such as face masks.
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Washington, DC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: Community Foodworks, a farmers market advocacy group, wanted to make the outdoor market experience more palatable and accessible for older adults. Farmers markets provide social connectedness for older adults, as well as an opportunity to access healthy, local food. CFW's markets also provide matching dollars and vouchers to locals receiving federal nutrition assistance, but recipients must wait in line for this assistance. Older adults often have trouble standing for long periods in line, especially in inclement weather. To increase market visitors' comfort, CFW created Rest Rehydration stations at three markets, which included shade tents, tables, seating, water and music.
HI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robin Bush stayed home, alone except for her cat. Fortunately, Bush and more than 100 additional kupuna (the Hawaiian term for grandparent or elder) found a way to develop intergenerational connections through Purpose Pals. A partnership between Hawaii's Afterschool Alliance, Age-Friendly Honolulu, Blue Zones Hawaii, and AARP, the program has matched more than 100 kupuna with young adults ages 18-24. The pairs socialize during regularly scheduled video and phone calls. The initiative takes personal interests, skills, life stories and experiences into account when making matches. Participants can then talk about anything, from favorite recipes to career advice to current events. "We looked for ways to promote social connectedness and, in particular, create a more age-friendly community by fostering friendships across generations," Purpose Pals organizer Christy Nishita said.
Long Beach, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: During Walk Long Beach's inaugural Ranchos Walk -- a 9.4-mile hike -- more than 400 walkers laced up their shoes and strode along the city's high ridge. Event organizers set up temporary wayfinding signs and made improvements to a crosswalk to make it more visible. Meant to raise awareness about the benefits of walking for fitness and recreation, the event introduced participants to streets and neighborhoods that many had never seen before. Stretching from Rancho Los Alamitos in the southeast to Rancho Los Cerritos in the north, the walk's route showcased Long Beach's agricultural history: The area's two original ranchos date to the 1800s. Organizers initially anticipated half as many walkers to participate, but residents of all ages flocked to the challenge. In 2021, Walk Long Beach repeated the event with the theme of women in Long Beach history.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Salt Lake City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: The Transit Together initiative invited residents at two low-income, older adult communities to use public transit to get to the grocery store. Over the course of three weeks, project organizers assisted groups of older adults -- including those with mobility issues -- as they navigated the Trax light rail system's routes and fare collection system. To help them run errands via transit, the County Aging and Adult Services office offered each participant a grocery caddy and a monthly senior transit pass. At the end of the program, 22 out of 32 participants reported they would use public transit in the future. In addition, several volunteer-resident pairs planned to continue making grocery trips together. Project organizers report that other service providers throughout Utah have since reached out to find out how they can implement similar educational programs in their communities.
Salt Lake City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: Older adults in Salt Lake City often feel overlooked in transit planning, leaving them isolated in neighborhoods divided by highways and poor air quality. HEAL addressed this by hosting walk audits and listening sessions, creating a toolkit for residents, and partnering with the transit authority to teach residents how to use buses and apply for reduced fares. These efforts amplified older voices in city studies and boosted independence by showing practical routes and services. One participant said learning about a nearby bus line made them feel less dependent on rides from family and friends.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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