Raleigh, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: As part of efforts to set up a new community center at a donated house, the City of Oaks Foundation purchased furnishings and equipment to host events onsite. To get the property ready, the Foundation hosted several volunteer days, where community members helped restore trails and clear underbrush onsite. In the months that followed, programming at the Joslin House and Garden ranged from plein air painting, art showings, a nature event featuring live owls and other creatures, a mother-grandmother tea, gardening workshops and a lecture on World Way I history. Project organizers say these events -- and others -- have helped with fundraising efforts as work on the house and surrounding gardens continues. The Foundation estimates more than 400 visitors each year have attended events in the community space, with many others visiting to stroll the property.

Helper City, UT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Helper City Library's Dark Sky Observer Club is a group of predominately older adults with a passion for dark skies and astronomy. To encourage new residents to share in their love of outer space -- and to get help residents stay active -- the City of Helper created a Solar System walk along the local riverwalk. The one-mile path features a signpost for each planet in the Solar System, installed at intervals proportional to each planet's distance from the sun. Additionally, the signs display a QR codes, which link to audio recordings with more information about each planet. Organizers have divided the path into several smaller walks, including Mission to Mars and a comet's journey. Helper is a certified dark skies community and organizers hope the project helps educate visitors about the importance of containing light pollution.

Lemmon, SD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Staff at the Lemmon Public Library saw a need to reduce social isolation in town, particularly among older residents. To address this, they set out to improve the library's public gathering space. Project organizers created a new bakery cafe, purchasing folding tables with stacking chairs, an acrylic pastry cabinet, a cake cover and cupcake display, tablecloths and pump pots for coffee. Since the cafe's opening, the library has used new tables and chairs at hundreds of events and the space has accommodated pop-up shops. The opportunity to bake for the cafe led some residents to launch their own baking businesses and one retired baker was inspired to plan a workshop for women starting businesses. Sparked by the success of the cafe, library staff have since pursued other opportunities to expand community space, including providing library patrons with an outdoor area for reading and gathering.