Long Beach, CA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: During Walk Long Beach's inaugural Ranchos Walk -- a 9.4-mile hike -- more than 400 walkers laced up their shoes and strode along the city's high ridge. Event organizers set up temporary wayfinding signs and made improvements to a crosswalk to make it more visible. Meant to raise awareness about the benefits of walking for fitness and recreation, the event introduced participants to streets and neighborhoods that many had never seen before. Stretching from Rancho Los Alamitos in the southeast to Rancho Los Cerritos in the north, the walk's route showcased Long Beach's agricultural history: The area's two original ranchos date to the 1800s. Organizers initially anticipated half as many walkers to participate, but residents of all ages flocked to the challenge. In 2021, Walk Long Beach repeated the event with the theme of women in Long Beach history.

Fairbanks, AK

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: Older adults who once grew large gardens for a local food program could no longer manage the work, reducing fresh produce for patients in the Food Is Medicine initiative. The Plant a Pot project supplied pots, soil and plants to 115 people, with volunteers helping them grow vegetables like broccoli and cabbage. Harvests supported the program and revived a sense of purpose for participants. Local service clubs also gained new energy and became more sustainable, with one member saying that the effort improved connections and generated stories of success.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Union City, GA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: Christian City, a 500-acre charitable campus near the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, provides housing and other support for people who are in need. The organization offers affordable housing older adults, as well as assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care. To encourage older people to lead healthier, more active lives, it operates a Senior Wellness program. The initiative also helps stave off social isolation, which cant contribute to physical and mental decline. This project added mile marker posts, a message board, side markers and signs identifying walking paths on the campus. In addition, Christian City provided residents with walkers with built-in pedometers. Following these improvements, the organization reported a 20 percent increase in participation in its walking program. Today, Christian city offers an array of other senior fitness activities, including Tai Chi and chair aerobics.