Memphis, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: To combat food insecurity and increase opportunities for socialization, this project created The Exodus Marketplace. The space now hosts a monthly farmers market, a book club and more.

HI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robin Bush stayed home, alone except for her cat. Fortunately, Bush and more than 100 additional kupuna (the Hawaiian term for grandparent or elder) found a way to develop intergenerational connections through Purpose Pals. A partnership between Hawaii's Afterschool Alliance, Age-Friendly Honolulu, Blue Zones Hawaii, and AARP, the program has matched more than 100 kupuna with young adults ages 18-24. The pairs socialize during regularly scheduled video and phone calls. The initiative takes personal interests, skills, life stories and experiences into account when making matches. Participants can then talk about anything, from favorite recipes to career advice to current events. We looked for ways to promote social connectedness and, in particular, create a more age-friendly community by fostering friendships across generations, Purpose Pals organizer Christy Nishita said.

Duluth, MN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: This project will invite older adults to become vibrant participants in Duluth's farmers markets and mobile grocery program by increasing opportunities to connect through volunteering, community visioning and intergenerational play.