Falcon Heights, MN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: The Philando Castile Peace Garden Committee prepared the site of its planned memorial garden honoring Falcon Heights resident Philando Castile, who was killed by police in 2016. The Committee completed surveys of the property, conducted soil testing and created renderings of the planned garden. They created mockups of a fence designed to feature community art, as well as a remembrance bench. The Committee also hosted community work days, where volunteers prepared the soil and planted greenery. In the months since, the Committee has continued to raise private donations for the garden's creation and long-term upkeep. They recently completed accessible pathways, the remembrance bench and art at the site. Located at the site of the 2016 shooting, the garden is designed to give visitors a space to collective reflect, explore solutions to combat violence and foster community agency.

Flint, MI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: To make the Footbridge Park Plaza safer and more inviting, the Carriage Town Neighborhood Association added benches, trash receptacles and a dog clean-up station to the space. They also upgraded lighting, allowing visitors to more safely use the plaza at night. Many Carriage Town residents use the footbridge to walk to and from Flint's downtown. After the improvements, project organizers polled locals and found 80 percent said they were more likely to use the plaza. Neighbors have since begun work on a second plaza nearby.

Blanding, UT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: The city will build permanent ADA accessible restrooms and a drinking fountain at Central Park near the recreation areas. The new facilities will allow visitors to spend more time at the park while staying comfortable and active.