Hayesville, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Access to health care services

Description: Hinton Rural Life Center, located in the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina, serves as a religious retreat and conference center. It also provides firewood, gardening and home repair assistance and other services to rural residents. The Center trained two staffers in Mental Health First Aid, a program focused on intervention strategies for people experiencing a mental health crisis or developing mental health problems. After five days of instruction, the two officials then passed along their knowledge at a training with nearly 30 other community members. Today, the Center continues to offer training sessions in Mental Health First Aid to local organizations and churches.

Clarkesville, GA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project will install a StoryWalk which will allows families to go from one post to another while reading pages of a story together. It will provide parents and grandparents a way to introduce children to reading while getting exercise.