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Waynesboro, MS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: Older adults in rural Wayne County faced isolation and limited digital skills, making it hard to access online services or stay connected with family. The library offered free weekly computer classes and provided simplified tablets for home use, teaching email, internet basics and video calling. Participants practiced during sessions and at home to reinforce skills. They expressed excitement about learning and confidence in using devices for everyday tasks, showing how the program reduced isolation and improved digital access in a community with few resources.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Bismarck, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: Many adults age 50 and over wanted to build digital skills but felt unsure navigating technology and excluded by cost or unfamiliar learning environments. North Dakota's Gateway to Science responded by opening its doors to older adults through a 50 Plus Discount Day and a series of hands on digital literacy workshops offered both at the science center and inside local communities where older adults live. The workshops focused on practical topics such as scam messages, password safety and emerging tools, with small group formats that allowed for questions and individual support. Participants reported leaving with greater confidence and excitement about using what they learned with family and in daily life. Several said they arrived believing they were not digitally literate and left feeling capable and curious.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Lincoln, NE
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: Many older adults lacked the digital skills needed to use online tools that now shape daily life, from email and maps to accessing health care and financial information. Lincoln City Libraries addressed that gap by offering hands-on technology classes and individual help that focused on practical tasks participants asked about. Sessions covered computer basics, mobile device use and online safety in an interactive setting where learners worked side by side. One attendee described the classes as "very interactive" and said instructors showed them how to complete tasks in real time. By building confidence and embedding ongoing support into library services, the project helped older adults feel more capable navigating an increasingly digital world.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Memphis, TN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To help more South Memphis families access fresh food, Knowledge Quest made upgrades the hydroponic system at its Green Leaf Learning Farm, installing fifty new grow towners onsite. The infrastructure improvements allow the three-acre urban farm to produce more vegetables, which Knowledge Quest makes available to local lower-income families. Project organizers say the farm's increased capacity also allows them to offer more farming and nutrition education programming, which helps community members become more self-reliant. Today the farm is an agritourism destination, hosting school field trips related to beekeeping, vegetable growing, aquaponics, green building and more.
Memphis, TN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The City of Memphis hoped to encourage residents of the Crosstown neighborhood to walk. They replaced and repaired sidewalks at the Lewis Center, the local senior center. To encourage people to use a new urban walking trail, the City also installed signage directing people to the path. A designated rest stop along the trail includes benches and planters, giving walkers a place to stretch, rest and socialize. Future plans include upgrades to crosswalks at the neighborhood senior center, as well as accessibility improvements at other public facilities and outdoor spaces. The Lewis Center also hopes to convene walking groups, giving older adults the opportunity to exercise in a social setting.
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