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Seattle, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To help the Southwest Seattle Senior Center become a safer and more inviting gathering space, organizers with Rebuilding Together Seattle made physical improvements to the facility. This included refurbishing handrails, demolishing a shed and replacing it with expanded ADA-compliant parking for members, repainting the building's faade and sprucing up landscaping. RTS used the project to promote its Open Volunteer Days, attracting people from the community to assist with the work. The Center serves an area of Seattle with the city's highest poverty rates and largest share of low-income residents. Project organizers said they hoped the improvements would help position the Center as a safe haven and community hub.
Jersey City, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To give residents at Marion Gardens the opportunity to gather, project organizers beautified a concrete area onsite. Residents of the public housing complex came together to plant trees, shrubs and flowers in an area of the property prone to flooding, with the new foliage acting as green infrastructure to absorb rainwater. To ensure care of the new trees long-term, project organizers also created a tree maintenance manual with pruning techniques and other tips. Since the planting, organizers have worked to plan a mural at the site.
Allentown, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley installed new tables, benches and chairs, lighting and flower beds at the entrance to a local senior center. The enhancements helped create a safe, comfortable outdoor space for community members of all ages. Nearly 90 older adults use the Center on a daily basis and visitors now use the space to relax and converse. Project organizers report visitors and staff appreciate the beautiful space and say it has instilled a sense of pride in the community. Inspired by the success of this project, the United Way went on to plan a similar gathering space at another community center.
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Minot, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: To increase vibrancy and walkability in Minot's downtown, the city's Downtown Business and Professional Association sponsored three new downtown wall murals, each created by different local artists. To encourage passersby to interact with the murals, the artists hid depictions of objects in each mural's imagery, challenging onlookers to search for elements that seem out of place in the painting's subject matter. The association worked with local businesses to acquire materials, such as paint, brushes and cleaning supplies, for the project. Each mural adorns the wall of a different local business. Over the years, Minot has become known in recent years for its assortment of colorful, creative street art -- an online tourist guide helps visitors find murals throughout town.
Hazen, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: Older adults and people with mobility challenges could not access the library's basement meeting rooms, limiting participation in art classes and community events. The project installed three chairlifts on two stairwells, creating safe, reliable access and plans to add a wheelchair for convenience. These improvements ensure long-term accessibility for older adults and people with disabilities. "The chairlifts will ensure that our art group will be able to continue to use the room we rent downstairs... We are very excited," said a participant.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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