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Keep Prince William Beautiful (2018) Print
2018 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
To create a vibrant public space at the Woodbridge Senior Center, Keep Prince William Beautiful created a vegetable garden onsite. Organizers worked to repair raised beds -- designed to be accessible for gardeners of all ages and abilities -- and fill them with vegetable plants. Additionally, they installed a seating area at the Center's front entrance. All plants grown in the space are native to Northern Virginia and include pollinator-friendly species. The Center plans to cook with vegetables from the garden and organizers hope the improvements give older adults a beautiful outdoor gathering space.
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Ranson, WV
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: A gardening area used by older adults will be enhanced with raised beds, seating and adaptive tools. This space will allow participants to grow food together, stay active and enjoy time outdoors together.
Bronx, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The Morris Community Garden had suffered years of neglect, and the abandoned site was overrun with rats. To breathe new live into the space, BronxWorks restored the garden, located near a senior center and three schools. They renamed the space Bean Morris Garden to memorialize a young man from the neighborhood. To welcome people of all ages and abilities, the nonprofit added accessible seating to the space, along with raised garden beds. Since the renovation, residents of all ages have volunteered to tend to the plots. Organizers say the amenity offers an important outdoor gathering space for the community.
Wilmington, DE
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Gardening offers proven benefits for memory and mental health, yet many older adults struggle with mobility and strength, and residents in underserved neighborhoods lack access to fresh food. To address this, the organization purchased 105 ergonomic tools like telescopic rakes and kneeling benches, making gardening safer and more accessible. Volunteers, including 15 older adults, helped maintain community gardens and urban farms, fostering social connections and improving well-being. One volunteer said the new kneeling pads made gardening much more comfortable, enabling her to keep contributing.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Fairfax County, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Access to health care services
Description: When the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person medical appointments risky, CFH wanted to help local older adults make the most of online sessions with their health providers. To do this, CFH distributed telehealth kits to residents of Herndon Harbor House, a senior housing complex, allowing them to measure their vital signs at home. Each kit contained a digital thermometer and a wrist device that measures blood pressure. To ensure recipients could operate the devices, CFH included written instructions in several languages.
Woodbridge, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: This project will relocate a bus stop to a safer location near Fellowship House, an apartment complex for older adults with limited income. It will include a new shelter, concrete pad, and seating, improving accessibility.
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