Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places

Description: Among the goals of the Go, Go, Go: Making Our Community More Livable project was to enable Chinatown's residents to build friendships -- Go outdoors. Go be creative. Go make friends -- in a linguistically and culturally accessible way. One out of five Chinatown residents is an older adult and nearly 90 percent of those individuals have limited English proficiency. To help foster social connections, the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation offered free art classes, with local artists serving as instructors. The organization then created a pop-up Chinatown art gallery featuring work created in the classes. In addition, PCDC founded a community garden club. More than 150 people ranging in age from 3 to 87 participated in the activities. The PCDC hopes to continue offering free community at its Crane Community Center, which broke ground in 2017 -- the first space of its kind in Chinatown.

Syracuse, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places

Description: Older adults in six public housing buildings faced isolation and limited access to health and safety information. To bridge this gap, the Housing Authority equipped each community room with projectors, screens and accessories, enabling interactive events and educational programs. Kick-off sessions featured fraud prevention workshops and showcased the new technology. These upgrades transformed shared spaces into hubs for learning and social connection, empowering tenant associations to host health fairs, movie nights and presentations that help residents stay informed and engaged.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Chelmsford, MA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places

Description: Chelmsford launched the Trails and Tales initiative to address gaps in understanding of Indigenous history and culture. The project installed mini, free libraries filled with books by Indigenous authors and kiosks featuring the town's Land Acknowledgement and educational content. Programs and film screenings led by Indigenous speakers deepened engagement, while volunteers of all ages built and decorated installations. These resources will remain in place year-round. One Girl Scout shared her pleasure with seeing the delightfully decorated library and said "The Little Free Library is at an unexpected and ideal location."

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.