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We Love Buford Highway (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Civic Engagement
└ Developing projects based on residents' priorities
└ Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Immigrant communities along Buford Highway face barriers like language isolation and limited access, leaving older adults disconnected from resources and cultural engagement. To address this, the project installed a painted newsstand as a permanent hub for multilingual newsletters and hosted an open-street event with story-sharing and health services. The event gathered 41 new stories and provided screenings, vaccines and essentials to hundreds of families. The initiative created a lasting platform for cultural storytelling and trust-building. A project organizer noted that the project inspired a mother and daughter to share touching stories and helped open an emotional conversation about their hopes for the future.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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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.
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.
Springfield, TN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Developing projects based on residents' priorities
Description: Rural residents, including older adults, faced barriers to library access and social engagement, leaving many isolated. To address this, the district launched the "Reading Across Robertson" Book Bus, retrofitted with shelves, seating and Wi-Fi, and stocked with books for all ages. Since its launch, the bus has hosted 16 programs, welcomed 2,000 visitors and given away hundreds of books. Older adults now enjoy story times and technology help, while volunteers foster intergenerational connections. One volunteer said, "Seeing the kids' eyes light up when they find a book they love-it's priceless."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Doraville, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: Residents of all ages will collaborate to create rotating murals that showcase local stories and identity. Art events will give older adults low-impact creative options, foster intergenerational bonds and beautify shared spaces.
Duluth, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: HomeFit Modifications
Description: Three training sessions will teach families how to make their homes safer for all ages. Multilingual outreach will expand access to practical home safety guidance.
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