Pendleton, IN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: An unused downtown lot offered little for community life, leaving older adults without a welcoming outdoor space. The Foundation transformed it into a pocket park with seating, shade and landscaping, then hosted 30 conversation events pairing older adults with students. Festive activities like Letters to Santa and a ribbon-tying ceremony drew attention to the space. Residents now gather there for informal meetups and envision more amenities, making the park a hub for connection and intergenerational engagement.

Raleigh, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: As part of efforts to set up a new community center at a donated house, the City of Oaks Foundation purchased furnishings and equipment to host events onsite. To get the property ready, the Foundation hosted several volunteer days, where community members helped restore trails and clear underbrush onsite. In the months that followed, programming at the Joslin House and Garden ranged from plein air painting, art showings, a nature event featuring live owls and other creatures, a mother-grandmother tea, gardening workshops and a lecture on World Way I history. Project organizers say these events -- and others -- have helped with fundraising efforts as work on the house and surrounding gardens continues. The Foundation estimates more than 400 visitors each year have attended events in the community space, with many others visiting to stroll the property.

Castleton-on-Hudson, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The Village of Castleton-on-Hudson regularly hosts a Repair Cafe event, where volunteers repaired any item brought to them, if possible. One problem: the event takes place on the second floor of a Village Hall, which has no elevator. This posed an accessibility issue -- locals often complained about climbing the building's difficult staircase. To solve this, the Village moved its Repair Cafe to Noyes Engine House. They also worked to activate a vacant lot next door, installing a community bulletin board, benches and planters onsite. The improvements support wider efforts to revitalize the village's downtown, with the goal of drawing more people to the central business district.