Opportunities
Building our Age-Friendly Laramie
Our team is filled with great ideas about how to optimize quality of life for Laramie's residents, including older adults and people with disabilities. In fact, ideas are so plentiful that we need interested residents to help us see them to fruition. Below are just a few ideas that are in the works. If you are interested in helping, or have ideas of your own, let us know.
Community Assistance Pool – Helping your neighbor- it's something we all should try to do more often. But what if you could help your neighbor and bank time for later when you need assistance. This community time-banking program is being designed to promote neighborhood cohesion through activities that encourage positive interactions with fellow residents. Many needs can be met and friendships built on neighborly reciprocity and volunteering to help those who live with us in our community. Read more soon...
Story Time – The Foster Grandparents of the Wyoming Rockies (FGWR) provides older residents with unique volunteer opportunities within our community's schools. Unfortunately, in this time of Covid-19 the options available to Laramie Grandparents to interact safely with their students is very limited. But the show must go on!! Age-Friendly Laramie is partnering with the FGWR to produce a series of video "Story Times" in which the Grandparents read the children's favorite books! The video production process is definitely a learning experience, but you can view a sample of our work here! More videos to come!!
Raised Garden Beds – Covid-19 has certainly put a damper on many of the human interactions that most of us depend on to remain happy and fulfilled. This proposed program will partner students from Acres Student Farm at the University of Wyoming with selected older residents in the Laramie community. Together (but safely distanced) these green-thumbed dyads will plan, grow, harvest and enjoy their bounties. We hope intergenerational relationships will continue long after Covid is in the past. Read more soon...
Laramie Caring Companions – In these times of social distancing and isolation, many of us are likely to have revelations about how many people who are chronically socially isolated may feel every day, regardless of the pandemic. Laramie Caring Companions is a free program designed to reduce isolation among vulnerable older people and people with disabilities. It pairs compassionate volunteers with people who may not have as many alternatives for meeting the very human need to interact positively with others in the community. To become a Laramie Caring Companion, start by clicking here.
Literary Laramie – We are interested in hearing your prose, poetry, and narrative about the aging experience. What have you learned in your journey through life? What have you lost, or more importantly, what have you gained? Send us your poems and short stories to be compiled into the first edition of the AFL Review. Click here to learn more.
Laramie Age-Friendly Commerce– Despite the honestly good intentions of many businesses in our community, the challenges that often accompany aging and disability are often not well understood or accommodated by restaurants, shops, and other merchants in our city. These misunderstandings can result in exclusion of residents, and reduce the business's "bottom line". The Laramie Age-Friendly Commerce initiative is being planned to provide training and support to local businesses to help them serve their older customers and those who have disabilities more effectively. Read more soon...
Age-Friendly Laramie 5k/10k Walk/Jog/Run- We will all be relieved when Covid moves on. Many of us will be ready to resume our exercise routines and get back in shape. AFL is planning a fundraising event to help residents of all ages and skill-levels meet their fitness goals. Join us in the fall, as we hit the Greenbelt to move for healthy aging!
Laramie's Tile Wall of Generations– Clay tiles have been around since the beginning of history (talk about age-friendly). Their beauty and ubiquity define cultures and defy time. This project is planned to create a decorative tile wall in a to-be-determined spot in downtown Laramie. Residents of all ages will be invited to learn the basics of tile making, the history and cultural relevance of tile making, and create their own personal tile representing the things they love most about living here. Ages 0 and up are encouraged to participate in collectively creating a beautiful piece of art to be enjoyed by the city's residents. Read more soon...
