Memphis, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: In Memphis's Raleigh neighborhood, where grocery stores are scarce and isolation is common among older adults, For The Kingdom created the "Exodus Marketplace" to restore access to healthy food and connection. The initiative offered free dinners to 250 people weekly, hosted fitness and cooking classes, and opened a micro grocery store with fresh produce. Volunteers helped spread the word and serve meals, creating a steady rhythm of activity and care. One participant said, "Being able to come shop has provided a sense of dignity." The project turned a food desert into a place of community, health and hope for local residents.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: This project helped patrons of the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission stay safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Project organizers added a handwashing station to the sidewalk outside the Mission's building, giving unhoused people -- who often lack dependable access to bathroom facilities -- a way to keep germs at bay. They also worked with local artists to design window stickers, which helped keep shelter residents and those seeking food assistance separate, curbing the spread of the virus. Artists also designed sidewalk decals with social distancing instructions. This sparked efforts to engage those same artists in a mural project onsite. Organizers say the project inspired them to design the Mission's building to better accommodate unhoused people. Since the project completed, the organization also began work on a new pocket park onsite.

Dora, AL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: Inflation and the end of pandemic SNAP benefits left many older adults struggling to afford food, with demand for assistance soaring. Mission of Hope responded by distributing groceries to over 5,000 people and purchasing steel carts to help volunteers move supplies efficiently. About 100 volunteers were trained to pack and deliver food, easing strain and speeding service. For homebound clients, weekly deliveries brought more than meals-one wrote, "These red bags of goodies sure can cheer a fellow up... It's just like Christmas."

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.