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Billings, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Older gardeners struggled with heavy clay soil and low beds, making gardening painful and limiting produce donations to food pantries. The garden added four tall raised beds, five fruit trees and drip irrigation systems. It also put in kneeler benches and hose hangers to reduce strain and improve safety. These upgrades let older adults keep gardening and boosted donations of fresh vegetables. One gardener said moving to a raised bed let her continue gardening despite physical limitations, while others praised the ease and sense of community the improvements provide.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Tavernier, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The JOY (Just Older Youth) Center's staff saw a need to build connections and prevent loneliness. To do this, the Center added a new community garden. Engaging the expertise of a local gardener, Center staff built elevated garden beds, designed to be easier on aging knees than ground-level plots. They also purchased seedlings for the space. Today, the garden isn't just producing broccoli and collard greens. Project organizers say the garden is also a nurturing place for older adults to get together, socialize and learn new skills. And over the growing season, nearly 100 community members worked in the gardens.
Oakland, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: During the COVID-19 pandemic, community gardens became critical, allowing residents of Oakland and the East Bay to meet and connect with neighbors and grow healthy food. However, many community gardens lacked amenities that made them accessible for people of all ages. To close this gap, Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley added needed amenities for gardens throughout the region. By installing three picnic tables, four tool sheds, five Adirondack chairs, ten garden benches and more 30 garden stools, Habitat for Humanity was able to revitalize well-loved gardens and ensure more residents could access fresh produce locally.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Indianapolis, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: It rains more than one out of three days, on average, in Indianapolis. To give riders of the city's public transit system a more comfortable wait for the bus -- even in wet weather -- IndyGo made outfitted three bus stops with shelters. Additionally, they added sidewalk ramps and seating to make them ADA compliant, allowing people of all ages and abilities to use them.
Indianapolis, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Disaster Preparedness
Description: John Boner Neighborhood Centers addressed preparedness gaps facing older adults in community housing, where limited incomes and access to supplies can increase risk during fires, power outages and extreme winter weather. The project paired practical education with direct support by distributing fire safety and winter weather kits to residents age 50 and over. Distribution events created opportunities for staff to share safety guidance, check in on wellness needs and reinforce available resources. Residents left with tools they could use immediately and information they could apply over time, strengthening confidence and independence at home. One participant described the relief of having multiple needs met in one place after receiving both safety supplies and help accessing supportive footwear, calling the experience a "blessing." The project deepened trust between residents and staff and established a foundation for continued safety outreach and preparedness programming.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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