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Celebrating the Volunteers Behind Age‑Friendly Fairbanks

AARP volunteers are building momentum toward age-friendliness in Fairbanks

Teresa Holt,

AARP Alaska

AARP Alaska

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AARP Alaska

The Fairbanks CHIP (Community Health Improvement Plan) group meets monthly with one goal: helping older Alaskans in Fairbanks stay connected, supported, and thriving. It’s a big-table effort involving community volunteers and local champions from Foundation Health Partners, the Fairbanks Senior Center, the Aging and Disability Resource Center North, Parks and Recreation, the City of Fairbanks Chief of Staff, AARP, the Alaska Commission on Aging, and others. During the last year, the conversations of this group have ranged from the Fairbanks North Star Borough Housing Study to employment, community engagement, and more. Together, they’re building a plan to make Fairbanks a more age-friendly place for everyone.

AARP Alaska

Each May, the Fairbanks CHIP group turns planning into celebration with Senior Recognition Day—an awards luncheon that brings together 200+ older Alaskans for a well-deserved spotlight moment. Then the very next day, they keep the momentum going with the Art and Science of Aging Summit, featuring engaging presentations, a health fair, and resource tables from Fairbanks service providers.

In May 2025, AARP Alaska partnered with Shredway to host a free shredding event as part of the 50+ Art and Science of Aging Summit. Now, the Fairbanks CHIP group is gearing up to bring the fun back May 7–8, 2026, at the Carlson Center, featuring hands-on opportunities like CarFit for seniors and a Riverwalk trail walk audit. Learn more here.

AARP Alaska

In October 2025, the group partnered with Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska and the State of Alaska to host a dementia training for caregivers, sharing practical tools, local resources, and encouragement for those supporting loved ones day in and day out. They then brought that same training to professionals at local health clinics and the Pioneer Home, helping strengthen dementia-informed care across the community.

In November and December, the Fairbanks volunteer team welcomed SBP, a national nonprofit dedicated to shrinking the time between disaster and recovery, for two hands-on sessions on Fostering a Culture of Disaster Preparedness for older adults. As part of the AARP Livable Communities: Technical Advisors Program, SBP helped the group take a clearer look at local disaster risks, along with practical preparedness steps, protections, and recovery resources. AARP Alaska and the Fairbanks Senior Center have plenty of emergency go-bags ready for upcoming awareness events.

CHIP volunteers Carol Anthony and Mike Sanders also helped take the Age-Friendly story statewide, presenting with other Age-Friendly teams at the Alaska Municipal League conference and inspiring several new communities to join the Age-Friendly Network.

AARP Alaska

Over the last year, the CHIP team showed up at decision-making meetings, ensuring older Alaskans were part of the conversation. Join AARP’s amazing volunteers and be part of the action. Reach out to Carol Anthony at Carol.Anthony@foundationhealth.org or 907-458-5545, or Patrick Curtis at pcurtis@aarp.org or 907-268-7919.