Pittsburgh, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities

Description: As Lawrenceville rapidly changed, the stories of older residents who built the neighborhood risked being lost. The project honored six women with a mural on a prominent facade and hosted a block party to unveil it. Volunteers collected 29 oral histories and published a zine celebrating nominees, creating intergenerational connections. "This event... was the celebration of her life that she would have wanted," said one daughter about the tribute giving her closure after losing her mother. The effort preserved community history and renewed engagement in age-friendly programs.

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

Miami Beach, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities

Description: While Miami Beach is home to many LGBTQ families, the stories of older gay couples go largely untold. Miami Beach Gay Pride Inc. created the Legacy Couples Project to tell the love stories of 14 older, queer couples who were at the forefront of the fight for equity and fairness. Project organizers commissioned portrait-style photographs, hour-long audio stories, on-camera interviews and a curated selection of personal artifacts. The audio stories, which a team multi-generational LGBTQ interns produced, were featured at two local museums and are now permanently archived at HistoryMiami.

Philadelphia, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities

Description: For decades, the Vine Street Expressway has split Chinatown, forcing older adults to cross seven lanes of traffic to reach groceries and services. To ensure their voices shaped plans for a proposed highway cap, PCDC hosted five bilingual engagement events for older adults at food distribution sites and the 10th Street Plaza. The effort produced 760 survey responses, including 235 from those age 50-plus, highlighting priorities like safety and cultural inclusion. As one staff member said after helping a hesitant resident complete a survey, "Her voice does matter... her opinion is very much valued." The feedback will guide design for a cap that reconnects the neighborhood and creates accessible public space.

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