2024 AARP Challenge Grant Recipient Appalshop

With this year's major investment, across the eight years of the program (2017-2024) AARP has invested $20.1million through over 1,700 grants to make communities more livable. Interim Executive Director Tiffany Studivant and Operations Director Roger May discuss how being a grantee helps build even more momentum for Appalshop's mission which includes livability for residents of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. This grant is even more timely given the small town of Jenkins (2010 Census population of 2100 people) continues to slowly recover following devastating flood waters that heavily damaged Appalshop and thousands of residents across eastern Kentucky were left without homes. Roger also addresses overcoming the barriers of being rural while Tiffany shares her thoughts on the importance of what she terms “the magic of art” affecting citizens’ identities and mental health in small, tight knit communities like Jenkins.