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Kaneohe, HI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Rotary Club engaged contractors and volunteers to clean up a 35,000-square-foot gravel lot on Aloha Drive that had become an eyesore. Volunteers worked with landscape architects to plant hundreds of shrubs and thousands of smaller plants throughout the lot, creating a pocket park. Leveraging a range of funding resources, organizers transformed the space into a community oasis they have dubbed Centennial Park.
Morrilton, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Organizers with Action Services noticed that many participants in their day program faced solitary, sedentary lives at home. So they set out to create an outdoor therapy and gathering space, designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities. First, volunteers poured a concrete slab to serve as a play surface. They then added a basketball hoop and oversized checkerboard painted on the pavement. They also installed benches and picnic tables onsite. To give community members access to fresh, healthy produce, they set up garden boxes for growing fruits and vegetables and planted fruit trees. Organizers say the improvements have led to more older adults spending time outdoors, actively participating in activities.
San Diego, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project helped transform a vacant lot in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood into a vibrant gathering space for residents of all ages. To encourage community members of the dense, diverse neighborhood to connect with each other, the Community Development Corporation installed art at the new public space. Since this activation, the space continues to provide a spot for artists to display their work. Project organizers say although the installation was intended to be temporary, it reinforced the value of creating similar community spaces in the future.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Ayer, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space improvements to increase high-speed internet
Description: Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts addressed persistent barriers that made it hard for older adults to access medical care, including long travel distances, limited public transit and the loss of nearby hospital services. For many residents, telehealth appointments were offered but felt out of reach without reliable technology, private space and hands-on support. The project equipped libraries and other community centers to serve as telehealth access hubs. It provided equipment, private rooms and staff trained to guide older adults through appointments and scheduling. Training modules were designed with older adults in mind to reduce anxiety and build confidence using digital tools. Five sites are now operating as telehealth hubs, creating new, trusted access points for care. Early success has prompted plans to expand to additional locations and strengthened advocacy for broader telehealth policy changes that could improve long-term access to care.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Westford, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: HomeFit Modifications
Description: This project will conduct two educational trainings on home safety and comfort, targeting older adults and their families in English and Spanish. The program offers assistance to qualified seniors, veterans, and families to address health, safety, and code violations.
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