SPOKANE, Wash. -- AARP has awarded Community Challenge grants to four projects in Washington state.

The grants go to projects that make communities more livable for people of all ages - and that can be turned around quickly.

Among the winners is the Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners, which has been helping lower-income residents and families in Spokane County since 1966. Cameryn Flynn, transportation services coordinator with SNAP, said the grant will support its transportation service.

"Neighbors on the Go is volunteer drivers taking seniors and/or persons living with disabilities to and from medical-related appointments," said Flynn.

Flynn said the organization helped about 700 people with 2,100 rides last year. Nationwide, AARP chose 184 projects and is distributing $2.4 million.

Another grant recipient is Garden-Raised Bounty or "GRuB," in Olympia. This organization has built more than 3,000 backyard gardens in the lower Puget Sound region since 1993.

Sadie Gilliom, grants coordinator with GRuB, said the AARP grant will help them build about 20 gardens for older adult communities - which is even more important this year, as the pandemic is causing some people to go hungry.

"The gardens increase food security at home and can provide hundreds of meals annually, increasing long-term resiliency and well-being," said Gilliom. "In addition, gardens allow people to connect with physically distant family and friends through learning together, sharing photos and garden recipes."

She said people can apply for a garden on GRuB's website.

Other recipients of Community Challenge grants include Seattle's International Community Health Services, to help people use telehealth services in their own languages, and the Puyallup Area Aging in Community Committee, to create an elder-friendly business program.

By Cinnamon Janzer for Next City.
Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

At Madison, Wisconsin’s nine public libraries, residents can check out books of all kinds, from hardbacks and paperbacks to ebooks and audiobooks. They can check out movies as DVDs and Blu-rays. And since last year, library card holders can also check out electric bicycles.

Madison’s public libraries are part of a growing number of bike libraries in cities and towns from coast to coast. A list of U.S. bike lending libraries curated by StreetsblogMASS reporter Grecia White documents 35 such programs, from Vermont to Texas. While they all look a little different and work a little differently, they all do the same thing — increase free access to bikes.

As a 2021 report by People for Bikes notes, there are a number of social, cultural and physical barriers that keep cities across the country from creating inclusive biking communities, from unequal distribution of biking infrastructure to prevailing perceptions of cycling as an activity for white men. A study in Portland, Oregon, found that car traffic, know-how, and space needed to maintain and store a bike are among the biggest barriers to bike use.

But cost, the researchers found, gets in the way, too. Even the cheapest road bikes still cost a couple hundred dollars, and the cost can go well into the five-figure range. For those who need an extra boost, most electric bikes cost at least $1,000. Municipal bike shares can help with access issues, but their payment infrastructure doesn’t work for those who are unbanked.

Enter bike libraries. In Madison, as long as you’re one of the 62% of city residents who have a library card, you can check out an electric bike from one of the city’s libraries for free. This is thanks to a partnership with Madison BCycle, an e-bike sharing company in the city whose parent company is Trek, a bike company based in nearby Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Last year Bcycle came to the Madison Public Library Foundation with an idea for a Community Pass Program that would give library card holders access to more than 300 electric bikes across the city.

“Making bike share more accessible in our community is a top priority for us,” Madison Bcycle’s general manager Helen Bradley said in a press release for the program’s launch last September. “Launching the Community Pass Program is one way we can ensure that everyone in our community has access to bike share as a transportation option.”

Instead of requiring the use of a credit card or a smartphone to unlock an electric-assist bike from one of the city’s more than 50 docking stations, Community Pass users check out an access fob from the library instead. The fob passes can be checked out for up to a week at a time. Each of the city’s nine public libraries have two passes available. So far this season, from March 15 until the end of last month, the city’s libraries have seen 279 fob check outs.

“We have nearly two million visits a year in our nine libraries in Madison, so it’s a place where a lot of people are coming and going every day,” explains Tana Elias, Madison Public Library’s digital services and marketing manager. It’s an equity initiative she adds, noting that it gives people the chance to rent a bike if they haven’t ridden one in a while as well as the chance to choose a bike over a taxi or an Uber.

“It’s an opportunity to choose to be a little healthier in your day-to-day activity. But also, if you haven’t ridden a bike recently, it’s a good opportunity to get out there and try it without making a huge commitment.”

Because Madison Bcycle’s infrastructure was already in place, including docking stations outside several library locations, there were only a few puzzle pieces to fit into place. In the end, the waiver that riders sign is from Bcycle so they’re handling the liability. In addition to managing the check-out process, the library foundation purchased helmets to complement the program, so users can check those out too if they like.

Because some of the docking stations are older than others, the technology is different between them and sometimes users had trouble getting the fobs to work right away, but the library has solved that with an information sheet that they co-created with Bicycle that explains how to use the fobs at different docking stations. Plus, “they upgraded some of their stations and they tried a new fob. It was definitely a back and forth testing process with a lot of feedback on both sides,” Elias says.

At the Student Government Association bike library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, the process is a bit more straightforward. The program that’s been running since roughly 2011 checks out cruiser bikes — chosen for their durability, accessibility and comfort — to the school’s students, faculty and staff.

The program has been on pause since the pandemic, but Ibrahim Akar, the SGA’s chief of staff, plans to relaunch the program next month. The key to their re-launch has been building out a waitlist and replenishing the bike supply that went from roughly 45 pre-pandemic to 11 today.

In November, Akar plans to advertise pop-up check out events online and on social media for the bikes that can be checked out for an entire semester and eventually a full year before getting an online reservation system up and running next semester. The bike library is free to use, each bike comes with a lock, and repairs are covered by an on-campus bike co-op that the SGA has partnered with.

“Working in the SGA, we work towards meeting the needs of students on campus and a lot of students would highly prefer to ride a bicycle than wait for the bus,” Akar says. “When you have a bicycle, you can leave on your own schedule and there’s a lot of fun that comes with riding a bike as well. You get to just enjoy the view and breathe in some fresh air. So obviously, if that’s something that the students want, we’re going to work as hard as we can to be able to bring that to them.”

An Oregon woman who helps people with their taxes has won a prestigious award for volunteers.

AARP Oregon has awarded the 2022 Andrus Award for Community Service to Kathy Goeddel, a volunteer who has worked with the AARP Tax-Aide program for three decades.

The program helps people with low incomes and older Oregonians prepare their tax returns for free each year. Michael Schultz is state volunteer president for AARP Oregon.

"Having met Kathy on several occasions," said Schultz, "I've just been very impressed with how she motivates people by her example as a lead volunteer, and she's always the first to step forward to get things done."

About 43% of Oregonians volunteer - according to AmeriCorps, which is the third highest rate in the country. The annual value of Oregonians' volunteer service is estimated at $4.2 billion.

Schultz said he's worked in the nonprofit sector and knows volunteers are a critical piece of their work.

"Volunteers are the authentic voice of what we're trying to achieve with our mission and vision," said Schultz. "They have the stories to tell that staff can't tell but the volunteer can tell."

The Andrus Award for Community Service is named after AARP founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus.

A Bellingham man who supports people with dementia has received one of the most prestigious awards for volunteerism in Washington state.

The Washington Andrus Award for Community Service recognizes volunteers who are age 50 or older. This year, AARP Washington has selected Tom Oliver, lead volunteer of Project Lifesaver for Dementia Support Northwest.

The project provides tracking devices for people with dementia, and Oliver works with the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department, which is able to track the devices.

He said people with dementia can take off at any moment, so it's great to be able to ease the burden on their caregivers.

"This program does give us the ability to find the missing person very quickly, like half an hour," said Oliver, "instead of 12 to 16 hours like a conventional people search."

Oliver said he traveled more than 3,000 miles last year to deliver these devices and provide maintenance for them.

About 35% of Washington state residents volunteer, according to AmeriCorps.

Marguerite Ro is the AARP Washington state director. She said the Andrus Award is given to people who give back to their communities.

"The Andrus Award recipient this year, Tom Oliver, is an exceptional volunteer in what he has provided to his community," said Oliver. "But also he serves as a role model for others, of what can be accomplished."

The Andrus Award for Community Service is named after AARP founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus.