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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.
Homer, AK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Trails
Description: To welcome visitors of all abilities, the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust installed large-font signage on its Poopdeck Platt property. Part of long-term efforts to create an accessible trail on the site, the signs display QR codes, which link to recordings of local people reading the sign text accompanied by soothing music. The park is in downtown Homer, and the trail connects Homer's Independent Living Center to nearby Bishop's Beach. Today, the property is home to a story walk and the local library has plans to expand the trail, with a focus on local indigenous history. Since installing the signposts, the Land Trust has referenced their design to inspire signage at kiosks along other trails.
Bethel, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Trails
Description: Many amenities in Bethel are only accessible by car. To encourage active transportation instead, the Town created a path for walking, biking and cross-country skiing. The multiuse trail runs from the town's elementary school to the town's new outdoor recreation area. Organizers hope the new path helps residents reach several upgraded recreational facilities nearby, including a new pool house and skate park. Spurred by the pathway's popularity, the Town is exploring ways to construct connector pathways to expand the trail network. By encouraging people to walk, organizers say the multiuse path will support Bethels economy, connecting pedestrians to local businesses.
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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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