St. Paul, MN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Inclusive public space improvements

Description: St. Paul's North End, originally settled around 1850, once was a magnet for European immigrants who worked for the railroads. In the late 1900s the neighborhood became a haven for migrants from Laos, Somalia and Burma, making it one of the most diverse places in Minnesota. The District 6 Planning Council, a local community organization that later changed its name to the North End Neighborhood Association, wanted a way to convey multilingual community and events information to residents who don't use the internet. The organization purchased five message boards and install them at two community gardens, at an outdoor seating area by an ice cream shop and in other locations.

Honolulu, HI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Inclusive public space improvements

Description: The Age-Friendly Honolulu initiative launched Kind2Kupuna, a public awareness campaign to help shops, restaurants, health care providers and other public-facing businesses better serve older adults. While preparing the campaign, Age-Friendly Honolulu found the most common complaints kupuna had about shopping were difficulties reaching items on shelves, poor customer service and employees failing to smile or not making eye contact. To address these issues, they created a poster featuring ten culturally appropriate tips, including start with aloha, be mindful of memory loss, step into their shoes and make it readable. A workforce that is more aware and equipped to accommodate physical and cognitive changes with age will be better able to support older adults in many ways, both big and small, Hawaii Pacific University Vice President Sam Moku said.

Chelmsford, MA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Inclusive public space improvements

Description: Organizers with the Chelmsford Public Library set out to recognize indigenous peoples' contributions throughout local history. To do this, the library installed informational kiosks. Additionally, they constructed five freestanding mini free libraries along local walking paths. To further engage residents, they also hosted educational programing focusing on arts and history.