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Hartsville, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The City of Hartsville transformed a community gym into a temporary indoor farmers market with accessible seating, vendor tables, signage and waste bins. When the market opens, it will offer a comfortable, weather-protected space and access to fresh foods for residents, with participation encouraged by those age 50-plus. The city plans quarterly events in 2026 and expects engagement to grow as residents experience the convenience and value of the indoor market.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Aguila, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Aguila Community Center in rural Aguila is a community hub for residents of all ages, despite its aging infrastructure, leaky roof and signs of wear and tear. To make the facility useable during the monsoon season, leaders at the center fixed the concrete floor with laminate plank flooring and weatherized the roof to make the facility fully functional. Since the improvements, the Aguila Community Center has hosted COVID-19 vaccine clinics, fitness classes, quincenearas and other community celebrations and events during all months of the year.
Brushton, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: An outdated Adult Center left residents in a rural community facing isolation and food insecurity. Volunteers transformed the space by installing a two-sided LED sign for outreach, adding new lighting, painting walls and creating a mural. A half wall now makes meal service safer and more efficient. These changes boosted meal participation by up to 21% and drew record attendance at holiday events. One diner said that the spruced up center will encourage more people to be willing to come and enjoy it, reflecting renewed community pride and plans for further upgrades.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Conyers, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The grounds of the Conyers-Rockdale Library offer locals an attractive, relaxing place to work remotely and enjoy the area's natural surroundings. Through its Birds, Benches and Blooms project, the library installed brightly colored benches around the grounds, including one on the Olde Town Conyers Trail, a well-traveled bicycle and pedestrian path. Project organizers also installed hand-crafted wooden bird feeders with live stream cameras, allowing residents to watch birds in person and from home. Additionally, the library bought two weather-protected corkboards to display community announcements.
Athens, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: Athens has a rich African American history that spans many generations, yet has lacked an appropriate venue to share its stories. The Downtown Athens Development Authority created a permanent exhibit at the Ware-Lydon House Museum about people enslaved in the region, which also featured stories about their descendants. The exhibit was developed alongside the museum's new, 40-volume African American heritage library and community conversation area, which includes tables and chairs where visitors can gather. Additionally, the Authority developed the first section of an African American Heritage Pathway walking tour, which travels between the museum and the home of one of the first vaudeville theaters in the U.S. built, owned, and operated by a Black entrepreneur.
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