Keep Pensacola Beautiful (2019) Print

star-24px 2019 AARP Community Challenge Grantee

Project Category

Public places
└ Park enhancements
Keep Pensacola Beautiful's mission is to beautify public parks in low-income neighborhoods. The nonprofit launched its Harmony Park program in Englewood Park with the installation of three interactive musical instruments -- two types of xylophones and a colorful drum set. This created an unusual, educational opportunity for play for children at the neighboring Boys and Girls Club, who benefit from music lessons at the site. KPB's executive director Sigrid Solgard stressed that no musical experience was necessary to play the instruments. "The notes are supposed to sound good together in any combination," she said.

See More Projects Like This One

Keokuk Parks Foundation (2018)

Keokuk, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: To improve community health concerns and opportunities for physical activity, Keokuk Parks Foundation converted a long-neglected set of tennis courts into six pickleball courts. In addition, they installed two benches onsite, along with a trash receptacle and signage. Today, the local library offers pickleball equipment on loan at its nearby site, while members of the local pickleball club conduct free lessons. The new courts have turned a neighborhood eyesore into a vibrant, attractive recreational outlet for residents. Pickleball -- a fast-paced game modeled on tennis and ping-pong -- is popular with older adults because it is low-impact and friendly on aging joints.

Town of Reedsville (2024)

Reedsville, WV

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: The town park lacked drinking water, forcing older adults and rail-trail users to bring their own or leave. The grant funded an ADA-compliant fountain with a bottle filler and pet station, installed on a new concrete pad near restrooms. A ribbon-cutting event celebrated the upgrade, which now offers a reliable water source for walkers, bikers and families. Two older cyclists rode 16 miles to the ceremony and filled their bottles at the new station, underscoring its value for active residents and making the park more welcoming for all.

Nuckolls County Foundation with Lawrence Community Fund (2021)

Lawrence, NE

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: The local park in Lawrence lacked places for visitors to sit. To make the park more accessible for people of all ages and abilities, the Nuckolls County Federation and Lawrence Community Fund installed park benches and ADA-compliant picnic tables near the town's swimming pool and sports fields. The improvements built on work the partners already do to provide amenities for the village, including playground equipment and trash receptacles. Now that the park is more welcoming, community members are looking into other ways to improve the space, including replacing an outdated merry-go-round.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Bike Pensacola with Pensacola Community Action Network (2021)

Pensacola, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement

Description: The Gonzalez Street Shareway in Pensacola is a wide, busy road dominated by cars. To demonstrate how the thoroughfare could accommodate both vehicles and pedestrians, Bike Pensacola conducted a one-day demonstration of traffic calming features. Bike Pensacola fabricated traffic circles and temporarily narrowed the roadway from four to two lanes. To test out the traffic control measures, about 300 bicyclists participated in a slow ride along the Shareway, cycling between three Pensacola parks. Additionally, Bike Pensacola partnered with local businesses and organizations to bring a local art market to the shareway including a sidewalk book sale, food trucks, self-guided walking tours and a scavenger hunt.

Council on Aging of West Florida (2022)

Pensacola, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing

Description: Pensacola's housing shortage left older adults facing eviction or living in vehicles. To address this, the Council installed two tiny homes for older adults in crisis and partnered with carpentry students and Habitat volunteers for stairs, shelving and painting. Open houses and media coverage showcased tiny homes as a viable solution, sparking public and official support for future projects. One resident said, "The mobile home that I was living in, the walls fell out... My case worker called and said, ‘I have you a house.' And God answered my prayers."

ABOUT THE AARP COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

Launched in 2017, the annual AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to local governments and nonprofits in order to fund quick-action, ready-to-implement projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages.

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