Mulvane, KS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Walk Audits

Description: Poor sidewalks and crossings near local adult centers and the downtown area made walking unsafe for older adults in Mulvane. To address this, the foundation led walk audits, community meetings and mentorship sessions to identify hazards and propose solutions. Findings will inform the city's 10-year comprehensive plan and support grant applications for ADA upgrades and safer intersections. One volunteer called the experience eye-opening, saying she learned how audit data can drive funding and policy changes.

Wichita, KS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Access to high-speed internet

Description: Like many Americans living below the federal poverty level, many residents of Wichita had no easy way to access the internet. To solve this the City of Wichita launched the Wichita Hot Spot initiative. Older adults living in low-income areas can now check out a mobile connectivity device from a Neighborhood Resource Center and use it at home for up to two weeks. The hot spots -- small devices that provide a wireless internet connection -- are meant to be easy for older adults to activate, helping reduce social isolation and narrow the digital divide. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the hot spots continued to be popular, and the program's success led the City to request a Community Development Block Grant to purchase more devices.