Washington County, VT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Community Health and Economic Empowerment

Description: To help homebound older adults engage in the visual arts, the Central Vermont Council on Aging delivered creative care kits to residents of Washington, Orange and Lamoille counties. The kits contained art supplies and instructions. For example, one included paper, watercolor paints and a guide to making color choices. Volunteers also checked in on kit recipients, with many participants joining video calls to share their creative work. In 2022, the Council on Aging launched a second year of the initiative, and provided tablets, internet access and tech support to older adults taking part. The program's popularity led to partnerships with the Vermont Arts Council and Meals on Wheels to provide kits to more people.

Washington County, VT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public or private transit access

Description: An iconic bus shelter known to Mad River Valley locals as The Snail sat unused and had fallen into disrepair. The Yestermorrow Design/Build School stepped in to rescue the structure, replacing rotting siding and roofing, upgrading structural elements and adding accessibility features, such as handrails. After clearing a space on School grounds, volunteers then moved The Snail four miles down the road. They also planted native vegetation around The Snail. Following these improvements, the spiral-shaped bus shelter is now back in use at a public bus stop.