AARP Hearing Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
Bazemore Park had no seating or shade, leaving older adults without a safe, comfortable place to gather or enjoy nature. To address this, the agency installed a 12-foot octagonal gazebo with benches and added string lights for usability. Volunteers assembled the structure and hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration. The new covered space now serves as a hub for social connection near homes, churches and a fire station, encouraging outdoor activity and community events-benefits tied to improved health and reduced isolation.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
McAlester, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Residents in a low-income neighborhood of McAlester lacked accessible recreation options. The city converted an underused tennis court into two pickleball courts, repairing the surface and installing nets and poles to create a safe, permanent space for active living. The courts encourage multi-generational play and social connection, offering older adults a low-impact way to stay healthy. The city plans to maintain the courts and expand amenities at the park, including a splash pad and trail upgrades, to further support active lifestyles.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Villisca, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Villisca residents have few nearby recreation options, and older adults in particular needed accessible activities that encourage movement and connection with younger family members. The Villisca Community Betterment Association revitalized the local walking trail and added 20 StoryWalk frames, creating an interactive reading path that supports physical activity and literacy. Volunteers age 50-plus led most of the work, completing trail repairs, landscaping 17 areas and restoring the bridge. The project strengthened community engagement and created a long-term asset that invites repeated visits. One family was moved to restore a memorial to their daughter and attended the ribbon cutting with relatives, showing how the upgraded trail renewed pride in the shared space.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Pollock Pines, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project set out to create a park, where Pollock Pines residents can gather. Following community engagement efforts, organizers with Community Economic Development Association Pollock Pines decided to highlight local history through the greenspace's design, paying tribute to early settlers, the Old West, the Pony Express, wagon trains and the gold mining and logging industries. To give residents a place to exercise, they also incorporated fitness equipment specifically designed for older adults.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Albany, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: 360 Albany set out to improve access to fresh food, outdoor activity and digital skills for older adults who lacked inclusive garden spaces and support using technology. The team installed raised beds, added ADA-compliant seating and hosted gardening workshops that taught older adults how to grow produce and stay active. Digital literacy sessions helped participants learn how to navigate health portals, manage online tasks and connect with family. One participant said the garden changed her days completely after planting for the first time in years and learning to video chat with her granddaughter. The improvements strengthened social ties, increased food access and created lasting opportunities for older adults to garden, learn and stay connected.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Cuthbert, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Andrew College activated an empty space in downtown Cuthbert into a practical, attractive gathering space, which they dubbed Magnolia Alley. Two murals by Andrew College artists already decorated the alley, since the college hosts events in the adjoining square. To make the space more useable for famers markets, art receptions and other gatherings, volunteers added benches, lighting and a hardwood pergola to provide shade.
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 Georgia State Office
999 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 1110
Atlanta, GA 30309
United States