Mounds, IL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: City Park was deteriorating and lacked accessible features for older adults and people with disabilities. The project installed ADA-compliant benches and picnic tables, added concrete pads and walkways, upgraded bathrooms with grab bars and accessible fixtures and provided umbrellas for shade. Volunteers, including older adults, helped build and install the new amenities. These improvements made the park more welcoming and sparked momentum for future upgrades. One resident noted online, "...to have a community to be proud of, everyone has to pitch in and help." Plans include adding lighting and exploring new features like barbecue areas.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Hattiesburg, MS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: Duncan Lake Park in Hattiesburg's East Jerusalem neighborhood is popular with residents, yet many of the park's amenities were in disrepair. To give the park new life, Hattiesburg Landmark Preservation refurbished picnic tables with new tops featuring painted checkerboards. They also installed new benches, added a wheelchair-accessible sidewalk and created two murals depicting native plants and animals. Today, the park hosts free arts programming for residents of all ages.

Spearfish, SD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: Many older adults living in east Spearfish wanted nearby places to walk or ride that felt manageable and safe, but existing trail options were often too far away or too challenging to reach from home. Spearfish Trails Coalition addressed this gap by building a new trail system that directly connects nearby neighborhoods to Lookout Mountain Park, creating beginner-friendly routes suitable for walking and cycling. The trails were designed to accommodate a wide range of abilities and brought residents together through volunteer trail days and a community ribbon-cutting event. Several older adults shared that the new routes prompted them to return to biking or walking after giving it up because other trails felt too difficult. By linking neighborhoods to open space, the project expanded everyday access to outdoor activity and established a lasting, close-to-home recreation option for older adults.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.