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.

Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: This project helped patrons of the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission stay safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Project organizers added a handwashing station to the sidewalk outside the Mission's building, giving unhoused people -- who often lack dependable access to bathroom facilities -- a way to keep germs at bay. They also worked with local artists to design window stickers, which helped keep shelter residents and those seeking food assistance separate, curbing the spread of the virus. Artists also designed sidewalk decals with social distancing instructions. This sparked efforts to engage those same artists in a mural project onsite. Organizers say the project inspired them to design the Mission's building to better accommodate unhoused people. Since the project completed, the organization also began work on a new pocket park onsite.

Memphis, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: In Memphis's Raleigh neighborhood, where grocery stores are scarce and isolation is common among older adults, For The Kingdom created the "Exodus Marketplace" to restore access to healthy food and connection. The initiative offered free dinners to 250 people weekly, hosted fitness and cooking classes, and opened a micro grocery store with fresh produce. Volunteers helped spread the word and serve meals, creating a steady rhythm of activity and care. One participant said, "Being able to come shop has provided a sense of dignity." The project turned a food desert into a place of community, health and hope for local residents.

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