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Seattle, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Pickleball's surge in Seattle left many lined courts without nets, limiting access for older adults who relied on the sport for fitness and social connection. To address this, the association installed five semi-permanent nets at three sites, including lighted courts for evening play, and organized free clinics for beginners and women-only sessions. These efforts transformed neglected spaces into active hubs, prompting community funding to add more nets and complete two major centers. Today, residents enjoy year-round play and multigenerational gatherings. As one participant shared, "The laughter and smiles brought from engaging pickleball in safe communities was heartwarming."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Eastport, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: The City of Eastport wanted to give visitors to its new park an interactive, low-impact activity, suitable for people of all ages. So they installed a music part onsite. The space features several permanent, outdoor musical instruments, including a drum set and a yantzee and duet -- both of which are mallet instruments similar to a glockenspiel. The improvements are part of larger remediation efforts to transform a former landfill on Passamaquoddy Bay into Cony Park, a four-acre outdoor space.
Pollock Pines, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project set out to create a park, where Pollock Pines residents can gather. Following community engagement efforts, organizers with Community Economic Development Association Pollock Pines decided to highlight local history through the greenspace's design, paying tribute to early settlers, the Old West, the Pony Express, wagon trains and the gold mining and logging industries. To give residents a place to exercise, they also incorporated fitness equipment specifically designed for older adults.
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Portsmouth, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Residents of Atlantic Heights Senior Housing faced barriers to fresh food and outdoor activity, leaving many isolated. Gather partnered with the housing authority to build four raised garden beds, install a watering system and provide seasonal plants. Twenty residents helped plan, plant and maintain vegetables, herbs and flowers. The gardens now offer a sustainable source of produce, improve nutrition and foster social connection while removing mobility barriers. Success has inspired plans for gardening workshops and expansion to other housing sites.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Portsmouth, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: Outdated technology at a key community venue limited accessibility for older adults in Portsmouth. WSCA upgraded audio and visual systems, added assisted listening devices and refreshed its Button Factory Stage with new signage and computers. Volunteers-many age 50-plus-repaired equipment and stretched resources, adding significant value to the project. These improvements transformed the space into an inclusive hub for arts and civic events, enabling clearer sound and easier use for all. The upgrades now allow WSCA to host more programs that foster intergenerational engagement and strengthen community connection.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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