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Oakwood Creative Care (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Community Health and Economic Empowerment
└ Supporting family caregivers
└ Supporting family caregivers
This project will support seniors experiencing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia with weekly engagement sessions. The program will focus on activities that scientific evidence shows to be beneficial, as well as coaching sessions for family caregivers.
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See More Projects Like This One
St. Louis, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: To showcase possible long-term upgrades to the North Hanley light rail station in Cansonville, Mo., Citizens for Modern Transit held a pop-up festival. The event prioritized community engagement, giving participants several ways to share their ideas. The St. Louis County Department of Planning invited attendees to use Lego bricks to build a model of amenities they hoped to see at the station. People recorded themselves sharing their vision for the site at a self-expression stop. Visitors could also write their ideas on a large banner. To help inspire people, the event showcased murals created by a local artist. The feedback gathered during the event informed permanent changes. Today, visitors to the site will find new seating and shade structures, as well as murals painted on the pavement. The theme for that transformation is Transit: We All Ride Together. And since 2017, Citizens for Modern Transit has gone on to improve several other transit stops in the St. Louis region.
Wilmington, DE
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: As part of its efforts to turn several vacant lots into the 7th and West Streets Park, the Wilmington Alliance (then known as the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation) created a community garden onsite. The Alliance constructed a storage shed and raised-bed gardens, along with two beds for blueberry and raspberry bushes. The shed has lighting, a community bulletin board and a countertop workspace for gardeners. To offer gardeners expertise and support, project organizers also recruited a neighbor to serve as farmer-in-residence. During planning for the new park -- located on a remediated brownfield site -- residents specifically requested a vegetable garden. Today, the garden makes up one-third of the park. The green space has become a staple in the community, and the neighbors have embraced the opportunities the garden presents, said Laura Semmelroth, director of creative placemaking.
Mosier, OR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: This project outfitted a new commercial kitchen in Mosier's community center. The kitchen provides free weekly meals, a food pantry and space for nutritional-product development.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Tempe, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: Over the years, Tempe has worked to become a dementia-friendly city. More than 1,500 of the city's residents have memory loss. To support these residents, the City hosts a weekly memory cafe. Caregivers can network with each other, and people exeperiencing Alzheimers and other forms of dementia can interact with each other and build friendships. Organizers hoped to make the building hosting the cafe more welcoming to participants. To do this, they improvided wayfinding onsite. The City installed signage with easily-understood icons, large print and high color contrast. The signs point people to classrooms, the onsite fitness center, the intformation desk and restrooms.
Phoenix, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Chicas Por La Causa sought to install a crosswalk near a busy, six-lane intersection in the Maryvale neighborhood. Project organizers heard from residents that they avoid crossing the street near the Casa de Primavera -- an apartment complex for low-income residents -- because they fear getting hit by passing cars. To address this, CPLC Staff and community members collected pedestrian data to demonstrate a need for traffic calming measures to ensure safety. That allowed them to argue their case to City officials, who ultimately decided to install two flashing beacons at intersections, which help make people crossing the street more visible to drivers.
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