AARP Hearing Center
For the fourth annual AARP Community Challenge, AARP received more than 2,800 applications from nonprofits and government entities, resulting in a highly competitive selection process. A total of more than $2.4 million is being distributed to fund 184 quick-action projects across the country, helping urban, rural and suburban communities make immediate improvements and jumpstart long-term progress to support residents of all ages.
And the Winners Are ...
This list of AARP Community Challenge grantees is organized by state and location, followed by the name of the grantee organization and a brief project description.
The projects were completed by the end of 2020.
In response to extraordinary community needs this year, AARP is investing additional funding to support projects in a range of diverse communities benefitting people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities, and projects that support local governments and organizations as they respond to and recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We developed the AARP Community Challenge grant program in response to mayors, local leaders and residents who asked for help building momentum for more livable communities nationwide. This year, both coronavirus response and projects that aid diverse communities are acute needs,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer. “Many of our earlier grants have led to permanent changes, and the program continues to evolve. We are proud that this year AARP will fund 24 coronavirus response and recovery projects that support immediate local needs.”
The winning projects are designed to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:
- Create vibrant public places by improving open spaces and parks and activating main streets.
- Deliver a range of transportation and mobility options by increasing connectivity, walkability, bikeability, wayfinding and access to a wider range of transportation choices.
- Encourage the availability of a range of housing by increasing accessible and affordable housing solutions.
- Increase civic engagement and demonstrate the tangible value of “Smart Cities” by bringing together local leaders and residents from all backgrounds to address challenges.
- Support coronavirus response and recovery efforts by ensuring older adults’ access to information, essential services and civic life. (These projects are present within the collection below as well as in a separate list.)
- Other improvements based on the most important needs in a community and the best quick-action solutions for addressing them.
Alabama
- Birmingham: Bush Hills Connections
Grant funds will help expand a community garden by providing seating, a covered area to rest, bathrooms, classrooms and sanitation stations.
- Mobile: Senior Citizens Services/Via Health, Fitness and Enrichment Center)
Part of the Midtown Meets! Community Rest Stop, the grant will create a public, community green space to increase opportunities for interactions between residents.
- Montevallo: City of Montevallo
This project will install exercise equipment for all ages at Orr Park and George Dailey Park so underserved residents can build healthy habits and reduce their risk for chronic diseases.
- Moulton: Moulton Lions Club
Funds will be used to revitalize the city’s downtown by bringing art and color into the area with themed crosswalks, parklets and public murals.
Alaska
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough: United Way of Mat-Su
This project will work with older residents and local artists to design and create an art and cultural trail reflective of the community's history.
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough: Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation
To increase access to the outdoors, an ADA accessible scenic overlook platform at Settler Bay Coast Park will allow visitors of all abilities views of this coastal park.
- Palmer: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Cooperative Extension
This project will create an area for growing fresh food and demonstrate how to build a garden that can be used by people of ages and abilities.
Arizona
- Phoenix: Diocesan Council for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Diocese Phoenix
This project will install raised garden beds, seating and shade trees at a community garden and launch new programming in the space. Photo Album
- South Tucson: Primavera Foundation
Funds will be used to improve the La Capilla Neighborhood's community garden by building a raised garden bed, purchasing adaptive tools and making the space more accessible and walkable.
- Tucson: Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance
The grant will support a community-wide Arts Care Package Campaign to provide assisted living communities and hospital patients with an array of creative experiences, including music, craft kits, journaling and DIY art projects.
Arkansas
- Hot Springs: City of Hot Springs
This grant will support a new Musical History Mural in the historic Malvern Avenue neighborhood to ensure that young people and new residents understand the rich heritage of the city's African American community. Photo Album
- Malvern: The Malvern-Hot Spring County Library
The funds will be used to improve pedestrian access and safety with a highly visible crosswalk, story trail and pollinator garden near the library.
- Stamps: City of Stamps
The project will support accessibility upgrades to facilities at the Maya Angelou City Park.
California
- El Cajon: Circulate San Diego
The grant will create educational resources for older adults, particularly the community's large Iraqi refugee population, to help them become more comfortable using public transit and lay the foundation for future transit use.
- Hayfork: Friends of the Hayfork Park
Funds will be used to improve the park and public pool during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic by installing safety and hygiene measures for people using the pool and attending a farmers' market.
- Los Angeles: Echo Park Film Center
This project will bring older and younger adults together to share experiences and stories for a film project that will be shared in outdoor settings.
- Los Angeles: Los Angeles River State Park Partners
As part of a new Chinatown Health Initiative, the grant will create a culturally responsive and inclusive green space to help bridge the gap between the services, programs and park accommodations needed by older adults.
- San Leandro: City of San Leandro
Funds will be used to host a design charrette to engage students, residents, older adults and community groups in the creation of an ADA-compliant public space for gardening, education and exploring the San Leandro Creek ecosystem.
- Seaside: United Way Monterey County
The project will add two affordable, accessible housing units and — through workshops, digital resources and the sharing of prototype plans — encourage the development of accessory dwelling units.
Colorado
- Denver: Elevation Community Land Trust
The grant supports the creation of 92 permanently affordable for-sale condos in the heart of the Santa Fe arts district. These homes will have energy efficient features throughout the building. The La Terla housing project will expand homeownership opportunities to over 300 families in the neighborhood.
- Estes Park: Estes Valley Community Garden
This grant will support the community's response to the coronavirus pandemic by making improvements to a community garden and installing hand sanitizing stations.
- Grand Junction: Grand Junction Parks and Recreation
This project will install an outdoor fitness circuit around an existing mile-long path encircling Sherwood Park.
- Lakewood: City of Lakewood
The grant will engage volunteers to install a series of innovative art projects, including a ground mural and help connect older adults to transit, parks, shopping and dining. Photo Album (Activities) and Photo Album (Murals)
Connecticut
- Hartford: Pope Hartford Designated Fund, Inc. (no website)
This project will improve the accessibility of a new community garden for older adults and people of all abilities in Pope Park and expand the site.
- Stamford: Fairgate Farm
This grant will extend an existing ADA-compliant walkway and install paths, benches, tables, bike racks and raised planting beds at an urban garden and community gathering space.
- West Hartford: Town of West Hartford
To increase safety for walkers of all ages, new pedestrian-activated crosswalk warning lights will be installed at highly trafficked intersections.
Delaware
- New Castle County: Latin American Community Center
The grant will develop and implement virtual outreach efforts to the Latino community and include “Know Your Rights” sessions to help ensure that Delaware’s Latino community is receiving essential information throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Video
- Wilmington: Cornerstone West CDC
The 4th Street Community Mural Project will bring residents together to complete a mural on a building adjacent to a park and help collect feedback for future neighborhood investments and improvements. Photo Album
- Wilmington: Delaware Children's Museum
The grantee will help develop a specialized online curriculum to connect grandparents and grandchildren through remote activities in the week leading up to Grandparents Day. Funds will also be used to create and deliver "You’re Grand” activity bags to encourage continued interactive activities. Photo Album
District of Columbia
- Washington: 1882 Foundation
The funded project will create a continuously updated, interactive platform to capture the views of low-income residents in Chinatown and help inform planning policies and redevelopment based on community priorities.
- Washington: Iona Senior Services
The grant will support virtual outreach to older adults who are living alone during the coronavirus pandemic and result in the creation of a discussion guide that can be used or adapted by other organizations.
Florida
- Fort Pierce: City of Fort Pierce Police Department
Funds will be used to improve a donated home embedded within the Housing Authority with improvements including painting, the addition of computers for residents to use and more.
- Gainesville: City of Gainesville
The city’s Online Civic Hackathon will bring together people of all ages and backgrounds to codesign a more livable city using human-centered design ideation strategies, new technologies and Gainesville’s open data portal.
- Lake Placid: Highway Park Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement District
This project will install a first of its kind in the community10-Stop Fitness Trail in the MLK Jr. Sports Field in Highway Park.
- Orange County: Curry Ford West
Using recycled materials, local artists will create a pop-up park in the form of a labyrinth, specifically designed to help promote physical distancing.
- Sunrise: City of Sunrise
The grant will support the installation of bike repair stations, artistic bike racks and vibrant sidewalk art. Photo Album
- Tallahassee: Goodwood Museum and Gardens
This grant will revitalize a historic roller rink from 1916 for outdoor activities with a new ADA-accessible sidewalk, lighting, murals and game boards that promote physical activity at a safe social distance.
Georgia
- Atlanta Metro: Lifecycle Building Center
Using 90 percent reclaimed materials, the building center will construct 10 accessible garden beds and seven Little Free Pantries to support older adults in largely refugee and marginalized communities experiencing food insecurity. Photo Album
- Augusta: The Jessye Norman School of The Arts
This project will create vendor stalls for artists and sellers providing locally grown fresh foods.
- Macon: Bike Walk Macon
To improve the connectivity, bikeability and walkability of three high-traffic, residential corridors, Bike Walk Macon will engage residents of all ages to select, design and install at least three permanent traffic-calming features. Photo Album (walkability) | Photo Album (bicycling)
- Monroe: City of Monroe
This grant will activate a new public space through the installation of planters, seating and outdoor games. Photo Album
Hawaii
- Ewa: Blue Zones Project — Kapolei and 'Ewa
The grant funds will be used to increase pedestrian safety by adding curb extensions that will, as an added benefit, feature artwork about the history of the 'Ewa community.
- Hawaii: Hawaii Afterschool Alliance
This grant will help develop intergenerational connections between vulnerable older adults and students across the state through regularly-scheduled, virtual check-ins.
- Waianae: Making Dreams Come True, Valley of Rainbows
This project will beautify city and state-owned traffic utility light boxes along Farrington Highway, a stretch of 11.5 miles, with art contributed by local artists.
Idaho
- Cascade: City of Cascade
This project includes paving a half-mile walking trail, creating year-round opportunities for outdoor exercise and nature viewing. Video
- Glenns Ferry: City of Glenns Ferry
This grant will activate a new public space with swings, a picnic table, a shade structure and the supplies needed to assist in park construction. Video
- West Gooding: Gooding Public Library Foundation
Grant funds will be used to create an accessible outdoor commons area with seating and shade coverings. Video