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Lexington, KY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: Kentucky has one of the highest rates of grandparents raising grandchildren, yet resources for older caregivers are scarce. To address this, PCAK partnered with 10 Cooperative Extension Offices to host Grandparents Day events featuring activities like planting trees and building mini library boxes. Each event provided educational materials, including a new guide called "Parenting and Caregiving Over 50". The gatherings strengthened intergenerational bonds and created lasting improvements such as library boxes and landscaping. "Overhearing the conversations between the grandparents and the grandchildren was so positive... connections can be made in the simplest things," one organizer said.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Buffalo, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: The Dorothy J. Collier Community Center serves residents of all ages, providing free and low-cost meals, exercise classes, social events and more. Organizers with the center hoped to offer residents another option: monthly jazz events. Participants enjoyed performances by local school groups and jazz musicians, received music lessons and enjoyed food from different cultures. Additionally, they had the opportunity to meet and share their needs with local elected leaders, who attended each of the five Jazz Nights. The events allowed the center promote efforts to beautify the community center. Following, project organizers completed an indoor mural in the space. In addition to increasing civic and social engagement, organizers said the Jazz Nights helped the community heal from a traumatic event -- the monthly gatherings kicked off in the wake of a mass shooting in Buffalo and gave attendees space to experience joy and comfort each other.
Atlanta, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: A covered wooden pavilion will be constructed in the local park for meetings, meals and community events. The structure will provide a reliable gathering place with shelter from sun and bad weather for older residents.
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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.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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.
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