AARP Hearing Center
Seven Wyoming Communities Win Community Challenge Grants
AARP announced today seven Community Challenge grants worth over $66,000 to non-profits and communities in Wyoming. AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more.
In this, its tenth year, AARP doubled its investment, awarding over $8 million in grants as part of its nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for all residents, especially those age 50 and older.
More Ways to Benefit
- Related Benefit 1
- Related Benefit 2
- Related Benefit 3
- Related Benefit 4
- Related Benefit 5
With the seven grants awarded in 2026, Wyoming projects have now been awarded 30 grants over the last 10 years, totaling more than $300,000.
The Wyoming Community Challenge Grantees for 2026 are:
Laramie County Senior Services, Inc. has been selected to receive a Demonstration Grant of $16,890 to purchase iPads and offer technical skills training to community members. The grant will pay for 30 iPads, a charging station, and keyboards, which can be used at the Laramie County Senior Services Center in Cheyenne. With the iPads, the senior center will offer digital education programming through OATS Senior Planet, an AARP program, to help members with online learning in health, safety and communication.
Classes and availability will be announced publicly when scheduled.
“Technology is the way of the future, and preparing seniors to tackle that by providing the equipment they can use to protect themselves from scams and connect with family is important,” said Erin LeBlanc, director of the Laramie County Senior Citizens Service Center.
Laramie County Senior Services, Inc. has been selected to receive a Flagship Grant of $15,000 to enhance the area around the Fox Crest Community Center, which is adjacent to the Laramie County Senior Services Center in Cheyenne.
The Fox Crest Community Center currently houses exercise and fitness classes for around 2,500 participants put on by Senior Services Inc., each month. The Fox Crest Community Center was built as a part of the age 55+ community owned by the Cheyenne Housing Authority, and sits next to the current Laramie County Senior Center. This summer, the Community Center will be connected to the Senior Center by a breezeway. However, the outdoor space offers little in the way of seating or space to visit.
“This grant will provide us a welcoming outdoor space to sit and visit or meditate,” said LeBlanc, the center’s director. “This will be a place where our members can engage with one another as they are waiting for their class to start, or just a place to enjoy with others.”
Powder River Basin Resource Council has been selected to receive a Capacity-Building Microgrant for $2,500. The money will go towards materials and training to perform a walk audit at a busy intersection in Sheridan.
A walk audit is a simple activity in which an individual or a team observes and evaluates the walkability of a location to document how and if pedestrians can safely travel along a street, navigate an intersection and get from point A to B, C and so on. The documented results can be shared with elected officials and other local leaders when advocating for such safe streets features as sidewalks, crosswalks and properly timed traffic lights.
The Sheridan Area Resource Council (SARC), an affiliate organization of the Powder River Basin Resource Council, plans to perform a walk audit at the corner of 5th and Main Streets in Sheridan after an incident took the life of Julie Fitzsimmons while properly crossing a crosswalk a year ago. The intersection is just steps from the office of Powder River Basin Resource Council, and SARC is looking forward to a methodical audit of the area’s safety. The team will also work with Julie’s daughter on the audit, who is leading an “Eyes Up. Lives Ahead." pedestrian safety campaign and the City of Sheridan, with a grant received from the WYDOT’s “Safe Streets and Roads for All".
“We walk that intersection, lots of people walk it,” said Katherine Schrock, the Assistant Director with the Powder River Basin Resource Council. “There are three corners with open vision, but the fourth is a blind intersection with no signage to offer any guidance for pedestrians or drivers to watch for people.”
The City of Casper has been selected to receive a Flagship Grant of $15,000 to help develop and stabilize an existing interior walking trail at Morad Park. Currently, Morad Park is a riparian natural area where dogs can be off-leash. This allows dogs to run and swim in the North Platte River, which borders the park. However, last year, two dogs died when they were trapped in the river ice.
JJ Dockendorf, Administrative Specialist with the Parks Department, told AARP Wyoming that members of the group Theo’s Legacy - Friends of Morad Park, a volunteer group dedicated to promoting dog safety and responsible use of Morad Park, proposed to stabilize a path with road base, which is approximately 1,200 feet long, that cuts through the center of Morad Park and away from the river. The Parks Department hopes to complete work on the path by late October 2026.
The park remains a heavily used facility, with trail counters indicating it was accessed over 136,000 times by citizens in Casper last year.
“We are hoping to see more users using the path further from the river during the winter months when it is more susceptible for dogs to go running into the river when they shouldn’t be,” said Dockendorf.
The Town of Rolling Hills has been selected to receive a Flagship Grant of $12,450 to add tables and shade to a recently built dog park.
Rolling Hills is a residential community of 430 citizens, five miles north of Glenrock in Converse County. The dog park sits at the end of a recently paved concrete walking path. The shaded tables and chairs will offer a cool place for people to sit while their dogs enjoy the new park.
“We are located on the prairie; it is hard to grow trees,” said Teresa Montgomery, Rolling Hills town clerk and treasurer. “In the summer, it can get very hot and very windy, and the dog park is out in the open. A lot of people like to walk the path to the dog park. We hope people will sit at the park, give the dog time to exercise and give the people a place to visit.”
Montgomery added that the news of the grant resulted in an emotional response in Town Hall.
“It was a surprise,” Montgomery said. “I had applied for a grant last year, and we were not awarded. When we got this one, I almost started crying. I had tears in my eyes when we got word of the grant. Where $12,000 might be a few coins in the bucket for some communities, that is huge for us. We have no businesses, so any grant assistance for projects we do is meaningful and huge to us. We can’t say enough how much we appreciate it.”
Sage Living in Jackson has been selected to receive a Flagship Grant of $2,500, which will lead to the installation of raised garden beds, seating, shade and irrigation at their long-term care community. Sage Living is the senior living community attached to St. John’s Health and has three dedicated long-term care neighborhoods, including a memory care neighborhood.
Sage Living has previously secured grant funding from the Teton Conservation District to help build raised beds, and AARP funding will be used to buy and plant vegetables and fruits in those beds. According to Kate Field, RN at Sage Living, some improvements will be made to the secure outdoor area for residents in the memory care neighborhood. Volunteers from the Teton Botanical Gardens will also help with planting and tending the gardens.
“Many of our residents have a history of gardening and caring for plants,” said Field. “In our memory care neighborhood, we have a secure garden area so residents can come and go fairly independently. Raised beds let them be outside, work with their hands and be connected to experiences and memories of their past that bring goodness and comfort to them.”
Sage Living already maintains on-site raised beds, providing residents with fresh, homegrown produce. The dietary team incorporates these ingredients into snacks and meals, ensuring a nutritious and sustainable dining experience for everyone.
University of Wyoming Extension - Johnson County will receive a $1,450 grant to install a 360-degree meeting camera to support hybrid programs. This will help rural and older residents participate in educational programs either in person or online.
The OWL meeting camera will be used in meetings, making in-person meetings held during bad weather or after hours more attractive to attend virtually. Micah Most, Johnson County agriculture and natural resources educator, said the UW Extension Office in Johnson County plans to offer programming such as disaster preparedness, fire-wise practices, ranch succession, gardening events, and more using the new equipment.
“By improving the capacity to offer educational programs in a hybrid format, residents aged 50 and older will be able to remain in their homes while still accessing the program content virtually,” said Most. “In this way, they can still enjoy the social benefits of being included in real time that do not exist when watching a recording of a presentation or reading the notes.”
AARP Membership
Join AARP for only $15 per year with automatic renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
More From AARP
Wyoming Senate District 5 Guide
Watch candidate videos for Wyoming Senate District 5.
Wyoming Educators:
Join a Free National Advocacy Conference and Make Your Voice Heard
House District 49 Voter Guide
Meet the House District 49 candidates through AARP's video voter guide.