See More Projects Like This One

Friendship Park, MN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: After the City of Rochester cut its parks and recreation budget during the COVID-19 pandemic, many small parks in Rochester fell into disrepair. To address this, Family Service Rochester improved a pocket park in the City's Friendship Park neighborhood, a diverse, low-income area of the city. This project added new trees, benches and a multilingual information kiosk. A volunteer team dug holes, planted, watered and staked trees. Others chipped in to keep the park free of litter. Organizers say the project demonstrated that residents will invest their time to improve their neighborhood. After the project's completion, volunteers from the initiative were inspired to improve other parks in the area.

Earle, AR

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project will enhance a community center into an accessible facility for older adults, featuring mobility-friendly equipment, digital literacy resources, and an expanded food pantry.

Elaine, AR

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project will transform an unused pocket park into an ADA-compliant Rest and Recharge Station with solar charging stations, seating, and amenities.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Des Moines, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Accessibility of amenities

Description: Older adults at South Side Library faced barriers to technology and browsing due to vision and mobility issues, limiting access to resources. The library installed large-print keyboards on all public computers and added magnification tools throughout collections. It also provided mobility aids like a wheelchair, walker and cane. These changes eased stress and encouraged independence. Patrons now browse DVDs and use computers with confidence. One visitor said after borrowing a rollator, "I'll be visiting the library way more often now."

Des Moines, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Capturing data and feedback from residents

Description: The Iowa League of Cities Organizers partnered the City of Marshalltown and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to hold educational workshops on data analytics. Workshop leaders taught community members how to use publicly-available government data to asses issues important to older adults, including safety, walkability, accessibility, public finance and housing. Using feedback gathered from the community as an information source, the League of Cities demonstrated how to map local mobility features. The City has used learnings from the project to inform decisions about public transportation routes and accessibility improvements. Organizers hope the workshops provide a model for other localities looking to engage the community through open data.

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