AARP Eye Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
La Union Helping Hands (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
This project will install solar-powered lighting along a community center's walking trail to improve safety and allow people to gather and walk after dark. The organization will also lay crushed rock to prevent soil erosion.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
Foley, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Organizers thought Foley Park -- a small green space next to a middle school -- had untapped potential. Foley Main Street and the City of Foley transformed the park into a local music destination. Redubbing the space Freenotes Harmony Park, Foley Main Street installed a collection of outdoor musical instruments, including contrabass chimes, an orange swirl, a yellow imbraimba and rainbow drums. The instruments are designed to be easy to play -- similar to a xylophone, the imbarimba has 22 fiberglass keys of varying lengths, which sit atop metal chimes. Visitors can play the instrument by striking the keys with the attached mallets. The instruments weren't the only upgrade to the pocket park. The City also assed an amphitheater with lights, power outlets and an ADA-compliant stage. Since their installation, the instruments have created an outdoor classroom for middle school students on weekdays, as well as a gathering place for residents of all ages on evenings and weekends.
Green River, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: The project will build a pavilion at Pearl Baker Park designed to be accessible to older visitors, with hand rails and a soft pathway surface to reduce the potential for injuries from falls.
Parowan, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project will provide shaded bleachers at a city park to create a welcoming recreational space for older adults. Park improvements also include six new pickleball courts.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
La Union, NM
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: This project built a covered bus stop at a central location in the town. It also installed a gazebo with benches outside the community center.
El Paso, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public place improvements to withstand extreme weather events
Description: As part of its Million Trees El Paso initiative, Eco El Paso planted 88 native and drought-tolerant trees along the Paso Del Norte Trail. In addition, the organization improved wayfinding along the trail, which passes through the city's Thomas Many neighborhood. The City lent a hand in the effort, removing dead trees and making needed irrigation repairs. El Paso has less tree canopy cover than many other communities, with an average of fewer than three trees per acre. Project organizers hope the new trees help cool the neighborhood and combat the urban heat island effect, making walking more comfortable for residents. The City later cited the success of the project in its efforts to secure bond funding for future tree planting efforts.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP has offices in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AARP New Mexico State Office
535 Cerrillos Road
Suite A
Santa Fe, NM 87501
United States