On a Saturday morning at the Olympia Senior Center, Linda Terry, the founder of Sharing Teens and Elders Project (STEP), is welcoming longtime and new participants for the day’s events. Committed volunteers are putting out snacks and coffee while sneaking in praise for Linda’s unwavering dedication to bridge generations and foster a bond between elders and a caring group of local teens. STEP, well into its fifth year, is a perfect example of intergenerational engagement — the primary reason why the program is featured as an Inspiring Community Connection in the 2018 edition of AARP’s “Where We Live: A Community for All Ages.”

When Deb Dennison and her sister Sue Dennison moved to their home in Tacoma in 2017, they were in for a big surprise when the spring rains flooded their basement. The search to solve the problem led Deb and Sue to the City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department, where they were lucky enough to meet up with Tony Miller in the Science and Engineering Division, who investigated their flooding complaint.

Beginning Feb. 1 and continuing through April 15, AARP Foundation is providing free in-person tax assistance and preparation through its Tax-Aide program, a volunteer-run free tax preparation service. Tax-Aide started in 1968 with four volunteers working at one site. Now, nearly 35,000 volunteers serve low to moderate-income taxpayers at 5,000 locations in libraries, shopping malls, banks, community centers and senior centers nationwide, according to a spokesman. There’s no fee, and AARP membership isn’t required for the service.

Residents of the tiny Cascade foothills communities of Carbonado and Elbe have the longest average lifespans (86 years) of anywhere in Pierce County. And in King County, some of the longest lifespans are in places like Clyde Hill and Seattle’s Bryant neighborhood, Mercer Island and Bellevue.