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Wichita Public Library (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Engaging residents in vibrant public places
└ Engaging residents in vibrant public places
The Wichita Public Library and Bike Walk Wichita launched three historical walking tours, which can be accessed through a smartphone app. It's all about inspiring curiosity in people about their hometown. According to Jeff Flor of the Downtown Development Corporation, Wichita has a lot of stories to tell, from the drugstore sit-in during the Civil Rights movement to the now-gone Victory Arch honoring World War I soldiers. To promote the app, library staff and volunteers participated in an open streets festival while wearing t-shirts with the message Ask me how to travel time.
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New Orleans, LA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: This project will rehabilitate a community center to create a public space for older adults. The center will include a computer lab for digital literacy, health and nutrition education, and activities to promote social connectedness.
Blaine County, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: Like many places, Blaine County struggled with community connectedness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. To combat this problem, The Senior Connection created the Wood River Valley Daffodil Festival. Over three autumn days, a multigenerational group of volunteers planted 30,000 daffodil bulbs at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden. As planned, the flowers blossomed during the festival, which took place the following spring. The volunteers included older adults, school classes, landscape companies and other community businesses. The festival -- which features food trucks, live music and garden tours -- is now an annual event.
North Conway, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: This project will enhance the library's meeting space with a working kitchen to support programs for older adults in order to combat isolation and improve access to nutritious meals for patrons age 50 and over.
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Wichita, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Access to high-speed internet
Description: Like many Americans living below the federal poverty level, many residents of Wichita had no easy way to access the internet. To solve this the City of Wichita launched the Wichita Hot Spot initiative. Older adults living in low-income areas can now check out a mobile connectivity device from a Neighborhood Resource Center and use it at home for up to two weeks. The hot spots -- small devices that provide a wireless internet connection -- are meant to be easy for older adults to activate, helping reduce social isolation and narrow the digital divide. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the hot spots continued to be popular, and the program's success led the City to request a Community Development Block Grant to purchase more devices.
Wichita, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: This project will enhance accessibility by installing sidewalks, an accessible raised bed, a bench, and ergonomic tools. This project aims to support individuals with mobility issues, especially older adults, in the garden space.
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