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American Legion John White Post 650 (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
The Veterans Memorial will promote awareness of the great service of men and women in all branches of the armed forces.
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Asheville, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: After Buncombe County Recreation Services installed new instruments in Charles D. Owen Park -- including lily pad cymbals, a tenor tree, tuned drums and flower gongs -- park attendance increased nearly 20 percent in one year. The instruments, created by the Freenotes Harmony Park company, don't include sharps or flats and are designed to be played using arm and hand muscles rather than fingers. That way, people of all musical abilities can play them without training. More than 400 people also participated in three workshops focused on designing artistic tiles for the new space with themes of compassion, peace and diversity. The creation of the Real Possibilities musical garden sparked new projects, including the park's first TRACK Trail (self-guided, family-friendly outdoor adventures with prizes), enhanced sports courts and bird nest boxes that allow researchers to study tree swallows.
Hattiesburg, MS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project made improvements to basketball court at a public school and park. It also added four age-friendly benches at a walking track, as well as two murals.
Edgemont, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: The city will create two pickleball courts in a downtown park to improve residents' health and increase opportunities for socializing, particularly for older adults.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Dyersville, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space improvements to support recovery after extreme weather events
Description: As part of an efforts to recover from a flood, this project created a community plaza and amphitheater in Dyersville. The green space links to a walking and biking trail, which is connected to the city's downtown riverwalk. To make the new plaza accessible, project organizers added diagonal parking, made accessibility upgrades to crosswalks, created new sidewalks and built a stage and canopy onsite. Today the site hosts a market, concerts and movie nights. It is also a venue for Beyond the Game events -- a gathering marking Dyersville's baseball history as the site of the Field of Dreams.
Dubuque, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services
Description: Local students will complete home modifications for low-income older adults, allowing them to age in place. The effort will also offer on-the-job training, mentorship and life planning assistance for participating students.
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