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Coffeyville's Reawakening Neighborhood Initiative (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Housing
└ Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services
└ Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services
By repairing neglected front porches, Coffeyville's Reawakening Neighborhood Initiative set out to demonstrate that small improvements can be a catalyst for community rejuvenation. The organization's Porchology project finished four East Side homes with safety railings, step handrails and new porch swings. They also replaced rotted wood and added decorative plants and birdhouses. Project organizers held a contest to select dwellings for upgrades, with each winner located in Coffeyville's older neighborhood. The Porchology project encourages community members to envision porches as outdoor extensions of homes. Following upgrades to the four selected homes, neighbors have fixed up their own porches, improving curb appeal. In the future, the organization plans to recognize homeowners who have invested in their porches and stage porch parties with music and entertainment.
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Arlee, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
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Charlotte, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: This project will engage older adult volunteers to create an online accessibility map for Mecklenburg County's greenway network, which will indicate locations of connecting trails, benches, water fountains, restrooms and transit access points.
Grand Rapids, MI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Trails
Description: To encourage residents to walk and socialize, the North End Wellness Coalition installed seven benches along the North Quarter Pathways, an urban walking trail in Grand Rapids' Creston neighborhood. The ADA-compliant seating is designed to accommodate residents with limited mobility. To promote walking on the Pathways' five trail loops, the Coalition also founded an Active Living Team, which is working to plan community events and programming. Project organizers say working with City staff to install the benches laid the ground for other improvements throughout Grand Rapids, including upgrades to local parks and new scooter and bike racks.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Coffeyville, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: The Coffeyville Area Community Foundation transformed a newly resurfaced sidewalk in the 9th Street neighborhood into an ADA-compliant fitness walk. As part of the Walk the Block Project, workers installed informational kiosks, new benches, distance markers at quarter mile intervals and new wheelchair ramps at crosswalks along the 2.5-mile route. The path winds through Coffeyville's revitalized historic downtown, connecting local sites, including the town's main plaza, the Midland Theater, the local community college and a community garden and orchard.
Bartlett, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: As part of the City of Bartlett's efforts to revitalize its downtown, City leaders hoped to bring residents a new outdoor space. In 2008, the local land bank donated a Main Street parcel to the city for a new park. However, a lapse in funding left many areas of the long-planned green space underused. This project added a small shelter house, picnic tables and children's playground equipment to the park. A team of local multigenerational volunteers completed the work.
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