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Native American Fellowship Inc. (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
This project will create a community vegetable garden to grow Cherokee heirloom plants. The garden will feature raised beds and seating to accommodate older residents.
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Pittsburgh, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Grounded Strategies transformed a vacant lot in Pittsburgh's Central Hill District into a community garden. The organization relied on what is calls its ReClaim Ambassador model, which connects experts with vulnerable communities to repurpose vacant land and revitalize neighborhoods. To create the Peace, Love and Friendship Garden, the ambassador for this project worked with corporate donors, volunteers and nonprofit partners. Meant to offset the closure of a local grocery store, the garden features 72 raised beds where residents can grow vegetables. Grounded Strategies is now working with partner organization Grow Pittsburgh to create programming for the space.
Wilmington, DE
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The center will provide ergonomic gardening tools to designed for older adults and people with mobility and strength challenges. Tools include hori horis (soil or weeding knives), adjustable telescopic rakes, two-wheeled wheelbarrows and kneeling benches.
Chicago, IL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: North Lawndale, whose population is 70 African American and 50 aged over 55 years, is one of 22 Chicago community areas with neither a grocery store nor supermarket. To combat food insecurity there, Jesus Word Center converted a vacant lot into a community garden. Project organizers purchased gardening tools, compost and vegetable seeds for local volunteers, most of whom are older adults. The improvements allowed gardeners to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs and the Jesus Word Center planned health and wellness workshops onsite. In the future, organizers hope to introduce a farmers market in the area as well, with the goal of improving health outcomes in the majority-Black community.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Coffeyville, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: The Coffeyville Area Community Foundation transformed a newly resurfaced sidewalk in the 9th Street neighborhood into an ADA-compliant fitness walk. As part of the Walk the Block Project, workers installed informational kiosks, new benches, distance markers at quarter mile intervals and new wheelchair ramps at crosswalks along the 2.5-mile route. The path winds through Coffeyville's revitalized historic downtown, connecting local sites, including the town's main plaza, the Midland Theater, the local community college and a community garden and orchard.
Coffeyville, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services
Description: By repairing neglected front porches, Coffeyville's Reawakening Neighborhood Initiative set out to demonstrate that small improvements can be a catalyst for community rejuvenation. The organization's Porchology project finished four East Side homes with safety railings, step handrails and new porch swings. They also replaced rotted wood and added decorative plants and birdhouses. Project organizers held a contest to select dwellings for upgrades, with each winner located in Coffeyville's older neighborhood. The Porchology project encourages community members to envision porches as outdoor extensions of homes. Following upgrades to the four selected homes, neighbors have fixed up their own porches, improving curb appeal. In the future, the organization plans to recognize homeowners who have invested in their porches and stage porch parties with music and entertainment.
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