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Max, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To beautify its downtown, the City of Max added hanging flower baskets, benches and picnic tables, as well as raised garden beds. The undertaking was a community effort for the small town (Max only has 131 residents). A local community club picked out the flowers, with another group of older residents volunteering to plant them and keep them watered. Project organizers say they hope the brightened streetscape encourages residents to get out and stroll through downtown.
Helper City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Helper City Library's Dark Sky Observer Club is a group of predominately older adults with a passion for dark skies and astronomy. To encourage new residents to share in their love of outer space -- and to get help residents stay active -- the City of Helper created a Solar System walk along the local riverwalk. The one-mile path features a signpost for each planet in the Solar System, installed at intervals proportional to each planet's distance from the sun. Additionally, the signs display a QR codes, which link to audio recordings with more information about each planet. Organizers have divided the path into several smaller walks, including Mission to Mars and a comet's journey. Helper is a certified dark skies community and organizers hope the project helps educate visitors about the importance of containing light pollution.
St. Paul, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project installed a garden with native and pollinator-friendly plants at a local elementary school. Residents -- including a neighborhood Boy Scout troop -- pitched in to prepare the site and plant foliage. Community members have continued to tend to the garden since its installation. Spurred by the success of the garden, school staff area considering planting more native gardens in the future -- including rain gardens to absorb stormwater runoff.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Seattle, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Homeowner legal and financial documentation
Description: Rising property taxes created growing strain for older adult homeowners who were eligible for relief but often unaware of the program or unsure how to apply. Local Initiatives built a coordinated outreach and assistance system ahead of tax season, embedding screening and application support into existing tax help sites and community centers. Multilingual materials and trained volunteers helped older adults understand eligibility and prepare paperwork. One homeowner expressed relief after learning she was likely eligible and had clear next steps. The project established a screening and referral structure that helps older adults remain in their homes.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Seattle, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: To increase their independence and mobility, Sound Generations partnered with antipoverty organization Hopelink to help residents understand and access local public transportation options. The two organizations hosted a guided excursion for a small group of older adults. They helped build participants' confidence using buses and light rail to reach cultural and educational sites, outdoor events and social services agencies. Excursion leaders gave instruction in tasks such as using fare machines and planning a trip with the King County Metro app. To accommodate non-native English speakers, they also provided translators. Today, Hopelink continues to provide resources to help older adults navigate public transportation.
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