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Chicago, IL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: North Lawndale, whose population is 70 African American and 50 aged over 55 years, is one of 22 Chicago community areas with neither a grocery store nor supermarket. To combat food insecurity there, Jesus Word Center converted a vacant lot into a community garden. Project organizers purchased gardening tools, compost and vegetable seeds for local volunteers, most of whom are older adults. The improvements allowed gardeners to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs and the Jesus Word Center planned health and wellness workshops onsite. In the future, organizers hope to introduce a farmers market in the area as well, with the goal of improving health outcomes in the majority-Black community.
Middlebury, VT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: To make Middlebury's downtown more vibrant, Find Your Wings launched a public art initiative to increase community engagement. The organization engaged local artists who worked with residents to create eight sets of wings. To include as many community members as possible, they distributed art kits to homebound residents, schools and senior living facilities, who sent their creations back to the artists. Each set of wings is unique -- one consists of painted plywood feathers, another parrots a monarch butterfly's wings, while a third turns random household objects into musical instruments for passersby to strike. Installed throughout downtown, the installations invite pedestrians to pose and snap selfies. Project organizers say the placemaking effort is meant to foster a sense of belonging and boost the local economy.
Salt Lake City, UT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: The Transit Together initiative invited residents at two low-income, older adult communities to use public transit to get to the grocery store. Over the course of three weeks, project organizers assisted groups of older adults -- including those with mobility issues -- as they navigated the Trax light rail system's routes and fare collection system. To help them run errands via transit, the County Aging and Adult Services office offered each participant a grocery caddy and a monthly senior transit pass. At the end of the program, 22 out of 32 participants reported they would use public transit in the future. In addition, several volunteer-resident pairs planned to continue making grocery trips together. Project organizers report that other service providers throughout Utah have since reached out to find out how they can implement similar educational programs in their communities.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Eliot, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: To create a more accessible space for all ages, the Eliot Aging in Place Committee installed five benches on the Eliot Boat Basin, located on the banks of the Piscataqua River. The project was a community effort -- volunteers assembled the benches and transported them to their permanent locations. A key goal was to increase walkability and improve health and quality of life for residents. To achieve that, the Aging in Place Committee chose the bench design specifically with older adults' comfort in mind. Project organizers hope the benches -- placed along the waterfront and near a playground -- give visitors a place to rest, allowing them to enjoy walks in the park. Following their installation, the Committee secured funding for additional benches for the town's library.
Portsmouth, NH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: This project will create a community garden with raised garden beds and vertical gardens to enable older residents of local senior housing communities to grow their own food.
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