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City of Myrtle Beach (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Community Health and Economic Empowerment
└ Addressing community health
└ Addressing community health
Using public art, the City of Myrtle Beach set out to spread the word about safe walking and biking, as well as COVID-19 public health protocols. To do this, the City hosted a competition for local artists of all ages, inviting them to submit designs with a safety theme. They then selected 10 winning designs and added text with safety messages to them. With the state Department of Transportation's blessing, the designs became colorful, vinyl wraps for traffic utility boxes at intersections around town. Organizers say the project demonstrated the value of public art, with residents and business owners looking for ways to replicate the results in other neighborhoods.
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See More Projects Like This One
Dora, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: The grant will bolster the mission's food giveaway program, which provides groceries to more than 1,000 local families, 80 percent of whom are older residents. The money will be used for needed items such as grocery carts and commercial-grade shelving to expand the warehouse's capacity
Tulsa, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: Indian Nations Council of Governments partnered with a local bikeshare organization -- This Machine Tulsa Bikes -- to deliver food to homebound residents living in a food desert. Project organizers deployed flyers and postcards to spread word about the program. The grocery delivery boxes included fresh produce, meat, bread, eggs and other staples, with a focus on high-nutrition, low-sodium items. Project organizers hoped the pilot project would improve food access and strengthen community partnerships. Project organizers report recipients enjoyed seeing their groceries arrive by bike. They also say the project helped inform local grocery stores about the ways they can help residents access food, such as allowing people to order food by phone and stock curated boxes of groceries.
Memphis, TN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: To combat food insecurity and increase opportunities for socialization, this project created The Exodus Marketplace. The space now hosts a monthly farmers market, a book club and more.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Charleston, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The American College of the Building Arts installed benches and a new pergola to create a multigenerational gathering space at the Community's Hope Impact Center, a local community center. The College saw the installation process as an opportunity for education, holding workshops on masonry where volunteers helped lay bricks for the space's walkway. With a goal of preserving, enriching and educating about architectural heritage, the organization trains artisans in traditional building crafts, such as carpentry and forging architectural iron. It was founded in the wake of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which damaged or destroyed much of coastal South Carolina's historic architecture.
Anderson, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To expose locals to art and grow food for people in need, Anderson Arts Center beautified its campus by creating a new mural and community garden. The first mural in Anderson, it depicts a rabbit alongside a colorful fruit and vegetables. Since its completion, it has inspired other local organizations to create their own murals around town. Project organizers say within the garden's first year, the Center taught nearly 500 children about growing fresh vegetables. The Arts Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, hosts gallery exhibitions featuring regional, national and international artists, orchestrates downtown public arts projects and is home to a summer arts camp and arts school for children and adults.
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