We all have one thing in common: we're getting older. And increasingly, older adults feel isolated from their communities. From The Lakeshore West Michigan, AARP program helps seniors find purpose and make a difference reports on retirees who still want to participate in the workforce, and how their deep experience can add value for employers.

In Michigan’s rural counties, the dozens of miles between a patient and a therapy session can mean they are navigating anxiety, depression, or a severe and persistent mental illness on their own. Stigma and small-town toughness can keep rural residents from asking for help in the first place. This piece explores how three community mental health agencies are tackling these challenges through innovative programming and effective outreach.

Everyone deserves to be able to have a space that they can be themselves comfortably—but not everyone feels welcome or worthy in their community’s typical social hubs. Inspired by her brother, who has a disability, Paula Roessle created a space in the heart of Bay City for adults of all abilities to enjoy art, music, and connection. While other organizations help those with disabilities find career opportunities, the Ability Social Club is focused on helping people find friendship and happiness. 

Last March, we wrote about tree, park, and trails equity in Grand Rapids (bet you didn’t know there is something called a Tree Equity Score), and that story directly resulted in Friends of Grand Rapids Parks getting inquiries from other media outlets, growth in their social media following, and interaction with their newsletter.

A story in our Soapbox publication highlighted efforts to improve community connectivity in one of Cincinnati’s inner-ring suburbs.

IMG formed a statewide and cross-sector coalition of partners interested in supporting expanded media coverage of important rural issues. The result is Rural Innnovation Exchange, which launched in February 2022.  

In the past decade, a growing number of philantrhopic organizations have provided financial support for journalism outlets.   

Two IMG publications react with positive stories after their communities -- Springfield, Ohio, and Tampa, Florida -- find themselves in the national spotlight.