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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
Tower Park lacked a dedicated space to honor veterans and connect residents, and steep terrain limited access for older adults. The Legion installed a six-foot granite monument, two flagpoles and landscaping. It was unveiled during a Memorial Day ceremony that drew many community members. The project improved accessibility with terraced seating and ADA-compliant paths and inspired plans for benches and a statue. The Mayor called the effort "a collaboration of many groups and a perfect example of serving and using our gifts to honor the memory of those who fought for us and our freedom."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Fort Scott, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project will add three new Kansas Unsung Hero panels to the Unsung Heroes Park. These panels will include QR codes for language translation.
Greenville, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Walker Park -- a pocket park in the West Greenville neighborhood -- is a popular gathering place for residents, but the greenspace lacked accessibility features and shade. To address this, the City refurbished park benches and added an ADA-compliant shelter house with an entrance ramp. Additionally, they worked to give visitors more recreation options, replacing a dilapidated horseshoes pit and adding accessible game tables. Organizers say the additions help Greenville's older adults and intergenerational families take advantage of park amenities.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: In partnership with Great Land Trust and Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation constructed an ADA-accessible, scenic overlook viewing platform at the newly opened Settlers Bay Coastal Park. The platform, which includes a safety railing and seating, allows visitors of all abilities to enjoy the panoramic views at Mat-Su Valley's first and only coastal park. Prior to the development of Settlers Bay Coastal Park, locals lacked access to public lands for outdoor recreation. At an unveiling event for the new platform, the Great Land Trust announced they had acquired an additional 180 acres of land adjacent to the existing park, expanding the total permanently protected land area to 500 acres.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Holy Cross, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: In a very rural community with no nearby recreation options, many older adults lacked a free, low-impact way to stay active without traveling long distances. The Committee led a volunteer-driven renovation of an aging tennis court and added accessible pickleball courts with seating. Residents worked side by side to complete the project, turning construction days into a shared community effort. The courts were used daily once completed, with volunteers seeing grandparents playing pickleball with grandchildren and visitors being directed to the courts by family members. By creating a no-cost activity close to home, the project encouraged regular movement, strengthened social ties and reestablished the park as a central gathering place older adults can rely on.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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.
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