Ogden, UT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services

Description: As part of long-term revitalization efforts, community leaders have worked to provide safe, quality housing options for low-income families, older adults and veterans living in Ogden's Jefferson Park neighborhood. To build momentum for the initiative, Habitat for Humanity recruited 1,400 volunteers, who completed nearly 70 home repair and renovation projects over a 16-week period. Their work included roof repairs, ramp, deck and fencing installations and yardwork. Additionally, volunteers made upgrades to a popular playground. Organizers say the project restored a sense of neighborhood pride and inspired ongoing improvements, including plans to build affordable housing and renovate a community center in the neighborhood.

Logan, UT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Inclusive civic engagement efforts

Description: Cache County is home to many migrants from Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar and other nations. To serve this community, Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection launched its Neighbor Program, with matches refugee families with local U.S.-born families. The cross-cultural pairings help familiarize newcomers with local resources, as well as activities and restaurants. Most importantly, participants learned about each other's cultures and developed friendships. To reach more families, project organizers worked to translate information about the program into Spanish, Tigrinya, Somali, Karen and Arabic. To ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, participants primarily met online, but facilitators also provided them with outdoor activity kits. During the winter holidays, they baked cookies to share with one another.