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West St. Paul, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Kennedy Park was underused and lacked features for all ages, leaving older adults without inviting spaces. The city hosted three engagement events - a community meal, a movie night and a paint-the-pavement mural. These were attended by more than 200 participants. It also added a recreation trailer for pop-up activities and commissioned an artist-designed bench to provide seating. These efforts rebuilt trust and shaped a new concept plan for the park, sparked an arts initiative and secured new funding. One resident said that they were extremely thankful the designs reflected the community's vision.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
La Union, NM
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: An abandoned baseball field turned walking trail lacked lighting, leaving older adults feeling unsafe after dark and limiting outdoor activity. Volunteers installed 12 solar lights along the trail and added desert landscaping with crushed rock, seating rocks and metal art near the community center. Outreach included flyers and social media to showcase improvements. Lighting now enables evening walks and community events, boosting safety and camaraderie. Residents expressed pride in the beautified space, and plans include murals and benches. One participant said, "Out here, lights are very essential because it is pitch black... We need to feel safe."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Green River, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Green River lacked a quiet, accessible park for older adults, as existing spaces focused on sports. Pearl Baker Park was designed to fill that gap, offering shaded seating, soft-surface paths and educational signage. Epicenter hosted a kickoff event and bilingual arts workshop to activate the space, engaging volunteers to build features like birdhouses. Work began on a pavilion that frames scenic views and supports safe mobility for older adults. The project sparked community involvement and laid the groundwork for expansion into adjacent affordable housing, creating more opportunities to age in place. "I love visiting this park with my grandkids... there are plenty of places for me to sit and watch them," said one participant.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Manchester, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Queen City Bicycle Collective addressed safety and access barriers that discouraged older adults from biking or walking in public parks. Limited bike parking, visibility concerns and fear of theft made active travel feel risky. The project installed new bicycle racks in parks and distributed free locks, lights and rechargeable high-visibility vests and sashes. The additions helped residents feel safer and more confident using parks for walking and biking. One older adult said the vest improved his visibility and made daily walks feel safer.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Goffstown, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: The five-and-a-half mile Goffstown Rail Trail connects the town's three commercial areas. To help trail users navigate, Friends of the Goffstown Rail Trail erected new signs with information about nearby businesses and facilities, as well as tidbits of Goffstown history. Since installation, business owners along the trail have reported more visitors in their shops. And as Goffstown plans for a future trail expansion, the signs have helped build community buy-in and attract donations to fund that project.
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