Pine Ridge, SD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation created an accessible, multigenerational playground at its Regenerative Community Development. Ahead of construction the organization held engagement sessions to get input from community members. Organizers wanted to ensure the playground's design was rooted in the Lakota way of life and elements of the site symbolize different teachings and traditions. For example, the facility's shape emulates the He Sapa, of Black Hills -- the heart at the center of everything. Play structures at the site represent elements of the Lakota creation story. With its grand funding, the Corporation installed a sidewalk and benches, including a semicircular bench to serve as a storytelling area. The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation works to improve the lives of residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation, with its Regenerative Community Development focusing on providing culturally appropriate physical spaces for liberation and healing.

Fort Worth, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: Older adults visiting Al Hayne Memorial Park often arrive on foot to view the park's collection of public art installations. But nearby sidewalks were challenging to navigate, particularly for people with mobility challenges, as growing tree roots and setting earth resulted in an uneven walking surface. To make the four-block walking route more accessible and welcoming, Lancaster District Historic hosted a series of community work days. Volunteers addressed trip hazards, removed dead trees and painted over graffiti-covered walls. Since the cleanup, residents have volunteered to keep the space clean by collecting litter.

Bartlett, KS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: As part of the City of Bartlett's efforts to revitalize its downtown, City leaders hoped to bring residents a new outdoor space. In 2008, the local land bank donated a Main Street parcel to the city for a new park. However, a lapse in funding left many areas of the long-planned green space underused. This project added a small shelter house, picnic tables and children's playground equipment to the park. A team of local multigenerational volunteers completed the work.