2023 AARP Community Challenge Flagship Grantees

ALABAMA

• Athens: Athens Main Street 
  This project will provide age-friendly seating in the gathering area at the local farmers market, so that older patrons can relax, socialize and enjoy live musical performances. 

• Camp Hill: Edward Bell Community Foundation
  The project will create a rural community garden which will grow produce to improve the diets of older residents, while also providing them with a safe place to get exercise by walking.  

• Dora: Mission of Hope
  The grant will bolster the mission’s food giveaway program, which provides groceries to more than 1,000 local families, 80 percent of whom are older residents. The money will be used for needed items such as grocery carts and commercial-grade shelving to expand the warehouse’s capacity. 

• Eldridge: Hubbertville Community Foundation
  In a rural area with few safe, comfortable outdoor recreation areas, this project will create a community space with a walking trail, picnic area and intergenerational playground equipment, so residents can socialize and engage in healthy physical activity.  

ALASKA

• Anchorage: Special Olympics Alaska
  This project will create new recreational and social opportunities for adults aged 50+ with intellectual and developmental disabilities by improving Special Olympics Alaska’s sports and fitness facility. 

• Naknek: Camai Community Health Center
  This project will convert an unused lot, situated in a central location next to a lake, into a community garden with raised beds and accessible benches to accommodate older residents. 

• Statewide: Alaska Municipal League
  This project will collect and analyze ordinances regulating accessory dwelling units (ADUs) with the aim of creating a best practices toolkit and a model ordinance for communities. 
  

ARIZONA

• Mesa: Oakwood Creative Care
  This project will support seniors experiencing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia with weekly engagement sessions. The program will focus on activities that scientific evidence shows to be beneficial, as well as coaching sessions for family caregivers. 

• Tucson: Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports
  This project will expand an adaptive cycling center where people aged 50+ with disabilities can enjoy the physical, emotional and social benefits of cycling. 

• Tucson: St. Luke’s Home
  This project will provide needed renovations to an assisted living facility for low-income clients, making it more inviting and accessible for older adults.  

ARKANSAS

• Cabot: Cabot Animal Support Services
  This project will create a "Crops and Canines" program, enabling older adults to grow their own food while enjoying the company of supervised dogs to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.  

• Heber Springs: Breakin Bread Community Kitchen
  This project will help make needed infrastructure improvements to the largest free meal site in the county, which primarily serves low-income older adults.  

• Little Rock: WSBZ Farms
  This project will support socially-disadvantaged small farmers aged 50+ in a rural area by installing a greenhouse, sharing germinated plants and providing a prep station with equipment to clean and package produce. 

• Little Rock: Central Arkansas Library System Foundation
  This project will increase digital literacy among older adults by creating a mobile tech classroom that staff can take into assisted living facilities to conduct workshops on how to operate devices such as smartphones and tablets. 

CALIFORNIA

• Gualala: Gualala Community Center
  This project will provide mobile solar chargers to older residents and others in need. The devices are especially important during wildfires, earthquakes, and weather-related electrical outages in the rural, hard-to-access area.

• Oxnard: Gold Coast Transit District
  This project will benefit residents who use public transportation by providing seating and lighting at bus stops in neighborhoods with large older adult populations. 

• Sacramento: Civic Thread
  This project will transform a park by staging a vibrant pop-up community celebration and organizing workshops where older adults can become involved in decisions about how to improve their community.

• Santa Rosa: Farm to Pantry
  This project will provide 10 "Farm-acy" Carts that will deliver food to low-income senior housing communities and medical facilities. Older adults will be able to take home top-quality, fresh, immunity-boosting, nutritious and locally grown produce at no cost. 

COLORADO

• Bristol: Town of Bristol Improvements Board
  This project will install a solar-powered shade structure at a new senior center which will showcase art installations for visitors to enjoy.  

• Fort Collins: City of Fort Collins
  This project will host DIY repair workshops for homeowners in mobile home parks.  It will also develop a neighborhood business guide to promote shopping locally. 

• Wheat Ridge: Seniors’ Resource Center, Inc.
  This project will convert an old firehouse into a community space to house a trishaw cycling program, providing an opportunity for older adults to enjoy outdoor recreation and socialize. 

CONNECTICUT

• Goshen: Goshen Land Trust
  This project will install benches and informational signage along a new accessible loop trail that provides an experience in nature for people of all ages and abilities.