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Gallatin, MO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Gallatins Main Street lacked safe, accessible spaces, leaving older adults at risk on poorly lit sidewalks and struggling with a hard-to-use entrance. The center addressed this by installing dusk-to-dawn LED lighting at its storefront and alley, adding a commercial door with ADA-compliant features and placing a weather-resistant bench and table set for outdoor socializing. These upgrades improved safety, accessibility and community engagement while modernizing the buildings appearance. One participant said the new door is "not only aesthetically pleasing, it is safer for us."

Charleston, SC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The American College of the Building Arts installed benches and a new pergola to create a multigenerational gathering space at the Community's Hope Impact Center, a local community center. The College saw the installation process as an opportunity for education, holding workshops on masonry where volunteers helped lay bricks for the space's walkway. With a goal of preserving, enriching and educating about architectural heritage, the organization trains artisans in traditional building crafts, such as carpentry and forging architectural iron. It was founded in the wake of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which damaged or destroyed much of coastal South Carolina's historic architecture.

San Diego, CA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project helped transform a vacant lot in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood into a vibrant gathering space for residents of all ages. To encourage community members of the dense, diverse neighborhood to connect with each other, the Community Development Corporation installed art at the new public space. Since this activation, the space continues to provide a spot for artists to display their work. Project organizers say although the installation was intended to be temporary, it reinforced the value of creating similar community spaces in the future.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Buckhannon, WV

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public spaces improvements to increase high-speed internet availability

Description: Staff at the Upshur County Public Library hoped to turn an unsafe and unsightly building on the library's campus into a more useful space. To give visitors a space to access free Wi-Fi -- as well as relax, socialize and read -- the library worked to replace the building with an outdoor living room. After tearing down the structure, leveling out the site and seeding new grass, the library outfitted the space with ADA-compliant picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and planter boxes. They also installed outdoor charging stations to help residents access the internet, even while the library is closed. Volunteers with the West Virginia Master Gardeners planted native flowers onsite, and now use the greenspace to host gardening trainings. Organizers say the parklet is an important amenity for residents who lack access to greenspace.

Buckhannon, WV

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Expanding HighSpeed Internet

Description: The Digital Compass project will provide digital literacy training, broadband access, and equipment to older adults in Upshur County. Upshur County Public Library will expand at-home broadband and offer digital skills courses through partnerships with local organizations, addressing challenges like cybersecurity concerns and device literacy.

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