Denver, CO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Digital navigation skills

Description: Older adults in the community faced barriers to digital access, leaving many isolated and unable to manage daily tasks or support small businesses. Centro San Juan Diego responded with classes on basic and intermediate computer skills focused on students age 50-plus. It served nearly 40 students who learned to navigate the internet and create documents, often for the first time. The program boosted confidence and inspired continued learning, with graduates volunteering to help peers and advocating for advanced topics like web design and payment processing. "It has been such a great experience... I have gained so much," said a former student turned volunteer.

Denver, CO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: Denver's Federal Boulevard is one of the city's deadliest routes, with a traffic fatality rate 20 times higher than the average for urban streets in Colorado. To demonstrate simple improvements to make walking and biking safer, WalkDenver held a daylong tactical urbanism event near Regis University. Using pastel-painted tires, traffic cones, flowerpots and hay bales, project organizers set up temporary bike lanes, curb extensions and traffic islands along Federal Boulevard. To determine the efficacy of the street calming interventions, they collected data on vehicle speeds and surveyed pedestrians during the pop-up. Ahead of the event, project organizers hosted a walk with local leaders, allowing them to experience the challenge of walking along Federal Boulevard. The nearby neighborhoods are home to college students who regularly walk and bike, as well as a high concentration of older adults and residents with disabilities.