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Anderson Arts Center (2019) Print
2019 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
To expose locals to art and grow food for people in need, Anderson Arts Center beautified its campus by creating a new mural and community garden. The first mural in Anderson, it depicts a rabbit alongside a colorful fruit and vegetables. Since its completion, it has inspired other local organizations to create their own murals around town. Project organizers say within the garden's first year, the Center taught nearly 500 children about growing fresh vegetables. The Arts Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, hosts gallery exhibitions featuring regional, national and international artists, orchestrates downtown public arts projects and is home to a summer arts camp and arts school for children and adults.
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Providence, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Residents at a Providence center for older adults faced limited access to fresh food and social connection. Youth staff revitalized raised garden beds with vegetables and herbs for meals and transformed the courtyard with flowers and benches. They also interviewed older adults and hosted cooking demonstrations to gather cultural recipes for a second edition of a graphic novel-style cookbook. The cookbook combines stories and recipes by refugees, many of whom are age 50-plus, in order to preserve their experiences and food traditions. The garden became a source of joy and nutrition while fostering intergenerational ties. "Recording personal experiences for the cookbook is validating... and will help preserve their stories and cultures," said a partner at a local women's care center.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Rugby, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To help Rugby's residents access fresh produce, the Geographical Center Historical Society worked to turn an underused outdoor space into a fruit orchard. The space sits on the campus of the Prairie Village Museum, which is located in a food desert. To activate the space, Society reseeded the grass and planted fruit trees and shrubs. They also installed ADA-accessible park benches, tables and bike racks. Project organizers plan to invite students to the orchard for demonstrations on techniques for picking, washing and preserving the fruits.
Camp Hill, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Camp Hill residents lacked access to fresh produce and safe spaces for exercise, leaving many older adults in a food desert. The foundation responded by building raised beds for a fall garden, installing fencing and creating a one-mile asphalt walking path. Volunteers planted greens that fed more than 200 people and added signage to make the space inviting. The project now serves as a permanent resource for healthy living and sparked plans for composting, marketing produce and adding a hoop house for year-round growing.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Anderson, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Walkability
Description: Older adults and residents using mobility devices faced unsafe walking routes near a bus stop with no sidewalks or lighting. The alliance led five walk audits with more than 130 participants to identify hazards and propose relocating the stop to an ADA-compliant site. The effort also introduced ideas for artistic crosswalks and greenery. These actions sparked formal plans for a new bus stop and pocket park, with city leaders and local groups pledging support, laying the groundwork for improved walkability and community connections.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Anderson, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: Anderson County lacks affordable, accessible housing for older adults and people with disabilities, leaving many at risk of unsafe living conditions. The alliance hosted a housing design competition and charrettes to create realistic solutions, adapting plans after Hurricane Helene with virtual outreach and surveys. Five designs were unveiled for public voting, and the winning adaptive reuse concept inspired county leaders to explore converting vacant buildings into housing. Donated land and strong community engagement now position the county to expand options for low-income older adults.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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