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Abbeville, LA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: Abbeville's Lafitte Drive-in Park is located in a neighborhood with few options for free recreational activities. To give residents a place to exercise, Abbeville Main Street created the Fit-Trail. Volunteers installed several stations along the park's walking path, each featuring a different piece of exercise equipment. The walk guides users through a series of exercises, including stretches, pull-ups, leg lifts and more. Organizers also installed signage explaining how to use each station, as well as a sign that congratulates visitors once they complete the course. Organizers say the fitness course gives residents a way to increase their physical activity, and also gives people a new reason to visit Lafitte Drive-in Park.

Harlan, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: Harlan library staff wanted to encourage families with children to explore Pioneer Park. To draw people in, they created a Story Walk. The library purchased twenty displays to house pages of a storybook, which they placed along the park's walking path. With their grandparents and parents by their side, kids enjoy running from sign to sign to reach the next part of the story. To keep the experience fresh, library employees swap out new stories seasonally.

Eliot, ME

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: To create a more accessible space for all ages, the Eliot Aging in Place Committee installed five benches on the Eliot Boat Basin, located on the banks of the Piscataqua River. The project was a community effort -- volunteers assembled the benches and transported them to their permanent locations. A key goal was to increase walkability and improve health and quality of life for residents. To achieve that, the Aging in Place Committee chose the bench design specifically with older adults' comfort in mind. Project organizers hope the benches -- placed along the waterfront and near a playground -- give visitors a place to rest, allowing them to enjoy walks in the park. Following their installation, the Committee secured funding for additional benches for the town's library.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Pikeville, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: The city will pay tribute to local Native history by creating a mural honoring those who traveled the Trail of Tears. The mural -- which will sit along Pikeville's Main Street, will depict the arduous journey endured by tribal members during their forced relocation.

Athens, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Lifelong housing and accessibility

Description: Habitat for Humanity of McMinn hoped to provide housing and other resources to a local family of older adults living in substandard conditions. Like other Habitat chapters across the U.S., the organization builds homes for people in need of housing. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization completed the frame for a new home, reconvening to complete it once shut-down orders lifted. Habitat also provided training on the need for safe housing options, especially as homeowners choose to downsize as they age.

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