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Spreading Roots: AARP Grant Helps a New Park Gain Others
Ferrum Park’s Growth Accelerates With AARP Community Challenge Grant
VA Ferrum Park
TV news-style story about the Ferrum Park Community Challenge Grant.
AARP Virginia
An AARP Community Challenge grant that helped fund an ADA-compatible walking trail in Franklin County has opened the door to a series of additional grants and contributions that are helping a volunteer-run park improve and grow even more.
Ferrum Park sits on 84 wooded acres next to Ferrum College in southwest Franklin County. Since a local nonprofit took ownership of the property in fall 2024, organizers and volunteers have made substantial additions.
Evan Jones, AARP Virginia volunteer journalist
Visitors now find a farmers’ market at the entrance and a new primitive and RV campground farther in. Several existing paths were quickly upgraded into walking trails — and that is where AARP’s support sparked something much bigger.
“Many organizations in Virginia have benefited from the Community Challenge grants over the years,” said AARP Associate State Director Brian Jacks. “It is remarkable to look back and see the tangible impact made in both rural and urban settings.” The grants intend to benefit people — especially those age 50 or older — in any one of several ways that include creating parks and expanding walkability options.
Friends of Ferrum Park, the nonprofit that owns the land, applied for a grant last year. Its proposal was approved, and the funds have already made a visible difference.
The group used the $14,700 award to build an ADA‑accessible trail and install materials for a series of benches along the route. The trail was dedicated in September, offering a level, even‑surfaced walk through the woods for people of all ages — and plenty of spots to sit and rest.
Evan Jones, AARP Virginia volunteer journalist
Bench placement was deliberate. “When we started the trail, we had senior citizens walk it, and where they stopped to catch their breath, that’s where we put a bench,” said Kathy Champney of Friends of Ferrum Park. All construction was done by volunteers. “We had a community day where everybody came out and cut the lumber and put them together.”
The grant also had a multiplying effect. Because it was the first ever awarded to the young organization, it helped demonstrate how the group manages funds and delivers on projects.
Volunteer Ed Saunders said the way they used these funds were helped show others how their grants would be handled and what they could help achieve.
“This was really kind of our test bed for understanding, grants, and understanding how to work with them,” said Saunders, “and it’s been something we’ve used to leverage a lot for other monies, other grants and things like that. So it really cascades down to all of these different projects that we’ve been working on.”
The projects are taking shape quickly. A Lowe’s grant funded a fire pit and seating area, and the labor to build it was donated by a local contractor. The Lions Club of Virginia is funding the construction of a playground that is currently underway. Efforts are now kick-started to fund the installation of electric service to the park.
The AARP grant additionally helped pay for a new parking area — one that is expected to see much more use as Ferrum Park continues to grow its amenities. What began with a single grant has become the foundation for an expanding community space with many possibilities ahead.
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