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Sisters Health & Wellness Collective with Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Inc. (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Civic Engagement
└ Developing projects based on residents' priorities
└ Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Organizers hoped to document the experiences of local African-American older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic via a Wellness Works initiative. The organization trained volunteers to conduct interviews using the StoryCorps model. Volunteers then interviewed more than 25 people from each of New York's five boroughs -- including their own grandparents. Information from the interviews helped shape local health policy, highlighting disparities in health care during the pandemic. Since the project concluded, organizers have continued to offer webinars and look for ways to preserve oral history.
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Baltimore, MD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Description: As part of a smart cities initiative, the Office of Information and Technology developed an online tool to allow residents and businesses to access city services, such as applying for government services and paying taxes. Project organizers hope the tool will help city residents have an efficient experience when they engage with local government functions.
New York, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Description: To foster intergenerational interaction, this project expanded a series of arts workshops including salsa and African dance, mosaic creation and storytelling to four additional sites.
Albuquerque, NM
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Description: The National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation set out to expand its popular book club for older adults. The club features Hispanic and Latinx authors, often inviting the writers to participate in club meetings. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation shifted the book club to a virtual format, which helped expand attendance to members living outside of New Mexico. During club sessions, participants held lively conversations and developed book reviews and discussion questions. Featured books include Argentinian writer Selva Almada's novel, The Wind that Lays Waste and Maria Hinojosa's Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America. Project organizers say the club's success has inspired them to expand programming related to literature and history. Feedback gathered from book club participants will help inform these plans.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
New York City, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: This project will recruit teenagers to teach digital skills to older adults. The initiative will help participants use the internet to conduct business, obtain benefits and reduce social isolation.
New York City, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Digital Connectivity for Disasters
Description: The project will provide older adults with bilingual technology and emergency preparedness education. This will include how-to workshops on cellphone and computer use and instruction on avoiding digital scams and phishing.
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