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Seattle, WA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: To help the Southwest Seattle Senior Center become a safer and more inviting gathering space, organizers with Rebuilding Together Seattle made physical improvements to the facility. This included refurbishing handrails, demolishing a shed and replacing it with expanded ADA-compliant parking for members, repainting the building's faade and sprucing up landscaping. RTS used the project to promote its Open Volunteer Days, attracting people from the community to assist with the work. The Center serves an area of Seattle with the city's highest poverty rates and largest share of low-income residents. Project organizers said they hoped the improvements would help position the Center as a safe haven and community hub.

Rapid City, SD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Visitors in busy community spaces often had no place to sit, leaving people without a comfortable spot to rest during walks or long visits. To address this, the group partnered with a welding class to design and build two ADA-compliant benches, which were finished with powder coating and installed on new concrete pads. Placing them in the market park created the only seating in that area and offered shaded resting spots for people spending time there. Members said the project helped them recognize broader unmet needs in their community and inspired future efforts. One volunteer noted that the benches were placed in "perfect shaded areas", making the park easier for people to enjoy.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Glen Ullin, ND

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Outdoor options for older adults were scarce in Glen Ullin, leaving few chances for social connection. That changed when two permanent concrete cornhole games were installed-one at a playground and another downtown-giving residents a simple, fun way to stay active. Volunteers hosted instructional events, and soon people of all ages were stopping by to play. "These games are so awesome, people stop over while we are playing and want to join the fun," said one resident. The project turned idle spaces into lively gathering spots, fostering engagement and movement for everyone.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Albany, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Walk Audits

Description: In Albany's South End, unsafe streets and concerns about violence make walking risky for residents who rely on it as their main transportation. To address this, the organization led 10 walk audits across key blocks, engaging 27 older adults to pinpoint hazards and recommend improvements. Findings will guide advocacy for safer streetscapes and violence prevention. One participant said she was thankful someone was doing an audit in her neighborhood, which she felt was often overlooked.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Albany, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The Underground Railroad Education Center constructed an accessible, indoor garden in the Arbor Hill neighborhood, whose residents lack access to fresh produce and gardening space. Designed for year-round use, the new hoop house represents an intergenerational collaboration between younger and older adults. Local teenagers created and installed planters and now help grow food there. Albany businesses and volunteers also contributed to the project by building benches for the site. Today, the Center grows produce, such as lettuce, in the greenhouse, which it donates to people in the community.

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