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Roanoke, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To combat food insecurity, improve neighborhood safety and encourage residents to spend time outdoors, this project enhanced an existing community garden. Over several community work days volunteers installed raised beds, benches, a picnic table and portable toilet facilities. Organizers hope the improvements make the garden more accessible to people of all ages -- including older adults living in nearby apartment complexes.
Hudson, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Nashua has a large migrant population from Zambia, Burundi and Honduras, many of were farmers in their native counties. The ReGeerative Roots Association hoped to give them the opportunity to use their skills in their new home. The organization's ReGen Roots program, which provides free community garden plots to immigrant families. To give more families the opportunity to grow culturally familiar foods, this project expanded the garden's footprint by two acres. Participants can sell any extra produce, supplementing their household income. Additionally, community garden members donate ten percent of their peak harvest to two nonprofits that combat food insecurity in Nashua.
Kansas City, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: An underused community garden in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood limited access to fresh produce and social connection, especially for older adults. The association revitalized the space by rehabbing raised beds, restoring sheds and adding pollinator plants. It also hosted cleanup, games and planting events to draw neighbors together. New signage made the garden more inclusive, and a fall harvest festival boosted engagement. The garden now fosters intergenerational activity and reduces isolation, with plans for seasonal programs and volunteer partnerships. One older neighbor, intrigued by the improvements, said he was eager to use a raised bed despite his limited mobility.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Washington, DC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Genesis residents lacked a safe, inviting outdoor space, leaving older adults and families isolated. The project installed 20 resident-painted mural panels, solar lights and a welcome sign, and redesigned the patio with movable seating for performances. A fall celebration with food and music marked the transformation. "The murals look so lovely, and the lighting makes this area feel more inviting," said one resident, noting how the space now fosters pride and connection across generations.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Washington, DC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Resources about housing options, safety and services
Description: Soaring housing costs have left many older adults in DC unable to access homeownership or avoid displacement. Manna tackled these barriers by renovating 131 affordable apartments, hosting 34 workshops and assisting more than 1,200 clients through counseling and programs. Thirteen participants age 50-plus applied for home purchase assistance, and 53 avoided eviction or foreclosure. One counselor recalled helping a family of eight avert foreclosure after months of effort, saying the outcome "gives the Manna team a sense of progress, appreciation and reward."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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