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Puyallup Main Street Association with Puyallup Area Aging in Community Committee (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Community Health and Economic Empowerment
└ Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
└ Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
This project created an age-friendly business certification program, which identifies businesses that intentionally accommodate older adult customers. After recruiting businesses to participate, project organizers scored each one based on customer service, environment, access and discounts. To incentivize businesses to participate, the Main Street Association chose six businesses with a 90 score to win decorative planter boxes. Participating businesses signed a pledge to be age-friendly and received certification stickers to display in their storefront windows. Businesses can apply to be re-certified every two years.
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Portland, OR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
Description: Following COVID-19 shutdowns, Alberta Main Street wanted to encourage residents to visit small businesses in the Alberta District. To increase foot traffic in the neighborhood, they hosted a series of community events. Christmas, Halloween and other holiday-themed gatherings drew large crowds to the district. Additionally, they launched a monthly Last Thursday series, which showcased local artists' work and offered activities for families with children. Organizers worked to ensure each event celebrated the neighborhoods' diversity and culture, as well as its African American business owners. Alberta Main Street hopes future events help shield legacy businesses from displacement. In the future, they are also planning a grant program to help owners historically overlooked by traditional lenders.
Augusta, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
Description: Music and farming are deep parts of Augusta's culture. To support Black musicians and farmers through agrotourism, Garden City Jazz created a series of outdoor concerts, dubbed Soul Soil. The concert series -- which took place at local farms -- featured performances by professional gospel, jazz and blues musicians and attracted visitors from all around the region. The series also sparked important conversations about the inequities Black farmers face. This resulted in new partnerships, as well as the creation of cooperatively owned farmers market.
Portland, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
Description: Portland's historic downtown, with its brick sidewalks and preserved buildings, long limited access for older adults and residents with mobility challenges. Age-Friendly Portland's "Ramp Up for Accessibility" initiative provided portable ramps and wireless doorbells to 15 businesses, allowing patrons to enter or request help without altering protected structures. Participation in the city's Age-Friendly Business Program grew 40% as more shops displayed decals signaling their commitment to inclusion. At Mechanics' Hall, a new ramp now welcomes visitors to one of Portland's oldest cultural sites-proof that accessibility and preservation can thrive together, creating lasting visibility for a more inclusive downtown.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Tacoma, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Many families in Tacoma struggle to access fresh, nutritious food. To allow residents to harvest vegetables in their own neighborhoods, Food is Free planted garden plots throughout the city. Organizers installed raised garden beds in residents' front yards, in tree boxes and in the public right-of-way along the city's sidewalks. Food is Free ensured the gardens met the City's code requirements. Each garden produces about 100 pounds of produce annually. Gardeners get to keep a fifth of their harvest, with the rest offered to residents during food share events held in a local park. In addition to increasing food access, project organizers say the effort helped participants -- including older adults -- become more engaged with one another.
Tacoma, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
Description: Older adults reentering society after incarceration faced steep barriers, from food insecurity to lack of digital skills needed for jobs and services. The project delivered 12 digital literacy trainings to more than 209 participants, distributed laptops to those without devices and expanded food distribution for stability. These efforts built confidence and independence, enabling older adults to navigate technology and connect with resources. "We have helped hundreds of our local seniors, including myself," said one participant, underscoring the projects lasting impact.
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