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Age-Friendly Windham (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
└ Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
Limited transportation left many Windham residents isolated and missing medical care, especially older adults and people with disabilities. Age-Friendly Windham expanded its volunteer driver program, funding ride coordination software, recruitment efforts and appreciation events. The program delivered over 200 rides for more than 60 residents and introduced tools like a volunteer handbook and driver safety kits. These efforts improved access to health care and community activities, reduced cancellations and built goodwill. One rider shared, "You make my impossible, possible. I give thanks every day."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Phoenix, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
Description: In Phoenix, many older adults lack public transportation options and must rely on cars to get around. But organizers with Elaine report that many older adults -- and especially Black and Latino/a individuals -- don't drive or own their own cars. To address this, the nonprofit offered free, on-demand rides to medical appointments, job and housing interviews and errands, such as grocery shopping. Elaine provided more than 300 rides to unhoused and low-income older adults. The organization's drivers also received training to assist their passengers with shopping, paperwork and help them tackle the community's social support systems. Organizers report the rides specifically helped two older adult client secure stable housing.
West Sacramento, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
Description: The City of West Sacramento wanted to improve older adults' ability to move independently around the community. First, the City identified barriers that kept residents from embracing new transportation services. Then they set out to make older adults aware of local rideshare and bikeshare offerings. To help older adults understand their options, the City held one-on-one trainings with individuals, as well as group training sessions. Additionally, they mailed informational fliers to residents. Data gathered during the pilot project enabled city staff to better understand how to structure programs in the future to maximize ridership among people of all ages. It also expanded many older adults' ability to run errands, meet up with friends and travel to medical appointments. Now we have options, one resident told city planners.
Thayne, WY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
Description: Older adults in rural Wyoming often travel hundreds of miles for specialty medical care, with no public transportation and harsh weather making trips risky. The center launched a volunteer-driven program that completed 27 trips and covered more than 6,500 miles to nine facilities, enabling 29 critical appointments, including vision-saving procedures. The effort revealed a pressing need for permanent solutions. One rider said that this project provided her the only way she was able to get to Idaho Falls for medical care.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Windham, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Residents in Windham lacked safe, walkable spaces, making it hard for older adults to access public areas. To address this, the department upgraded a community park by adding a stone dust surface under a picnic pavilion, installing three ADA-compliant tables and building a 62-foot path to the parking lot. Volunteers age 50-plus helped with installation and joined the opening celebration. The pavilion now offers a shaded, accessible spot for socializing and watching park activities, supporting physical and emotional health for older adults. It also advances Age Friendly Windham's plan to improve public spaces and lays groundwork for a future GRACE Trail to encourage intergenerational recreation.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Cumberland, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Bikeability
Description: Older adults who wanted to enjoy local forest trails often could not walk long distances or manage a two-wheel bicycle, leaving many disconnected from nature close to home. By adding fat tire tricycles and helmets and inviting residents to help assemble them, the town created an accessible way to explore five miles of wooded paths. Early riders showed how meaningful this new access was. One woman said she had lived there for 37 years and never knew the trails existed. The project boosted confidence, reduced isolation and encouraged plans for more inclusive outdoor programs.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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