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Bethlehem, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Trails
Description: As part of its efforts to bring public art to the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy created a mural along the trail in the Town of Bethlehem. Project organizers chose a local artist from a pool of applicants to paint the mural, which depicts a surreal landscape and adorns a formerly graffitied wall. Since then, the Art on the Rail Trail (ART) initiative has installed several more murals, as well as a mini art gallery and arts programming. The trail is popular with pedestrians and cyclists in warm weather and cross-county skiers and snowshoe hikers in the winter.
Sandpoint, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Trails
Description: After acquiring a new, 180-acre forest property, organizers with the Kanitsu Land Trust wanted to ensure people of all ability levels could enjoy it. So they created an all-abilities trail to draw visitors to the site. Pine Street Woods now boasts half a mile of accessible walkways, as well as four new benches. Since completing these improvements, the Land Trust reports an uptick in trail use, with over 100 visitors per day in summer 2020. The trail now serves as an example to municipal leaders of how to address accessibility challenges that limit outdoor access for those with mobility issues.
Bethlehem, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Trails
Description: The Mohawk Land Conservancy's Art on the Rail Trail sponsors art installations along the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail. The trail is popular with pedestrians and cyclists in warm weather and cross-country skiers and snowshoe hikers in the winter. To promote walking and biking, the Conservancy benches along the pathway and made repairs. Additionally, a new mural transformed a graffitied wall facing Hudson Avenue into a lush and pristine world of imagined creatures, according to artist Andrea Hersch.
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Portland, OR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: HomeFit Modifications
Description: This project will educate older adults about home modifications during outreach events at Portland-area senior centers, with a focus on residents who speak little or no English. ReFIT will also install grab bars in homes.
Tigard, OR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Entrepreneurship and improved economic resilience
Description: The City of Tigard hoped to create a business incubator to help local entrepreneurs test out their ideas. So the City launched its Tigard on Roll Program, purchasing two food trucks outfitted with commercial restaurant equipment. Startup food vendors can apply to lease the trucks at a reduced rate, and the City provides coaching from business advisors. The trucks -- which sit in Tigard's new Universal Plaza -- also offer an important amenity to residents of downtown. The incubator program specifically targets entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, which it supports by reducing start-up costs and offering mentorship. Today, residents can find the trucks at a weekly farmers market and at the annual Taste of Tigard food festival.
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