AARP Alaska grant powers Willow pickleball club

Willow Area Community Organization

Using a $1,000 AARP Alaska Community Challenge Grant, Willow resident volunteers have organized the town’s first ever pickleball club. To focus more intently on local community engagement, volunteers applied for the grant in 2021. After receiving funding, volunteers purchased new pickleball equipment including nets, paddles, and balls. The club, now open to all skill levels and spectators, meets several times each week at the Willow Community Center.

“Willow community members are thrilled to add Pickleball as an indoor recreational opportunity this winter,” said Linda Oxley, Willow Area Community Organization (WACO) Chair. “Players from 10 years old to 60+ have embraced this opportunity for physical activity and social interaction. Membership in the Club is growing as the word spreads that there’s a new game in town and it’s really fun. On behalf of WACO, thank you for the funding that has allowed the pickleball club to form.”

The AARP Community Challenge Grant helps communities make immediate improvements to what matters most, and jump-start long-term progress in support of residents of all ages.

“Our goal at AARP Alaska is to support the efforts of our communities to be great places for people of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities,” said State Director, Teresa Holt. “What has been done by volunteers in Willow is an example that underscores the importance of this work.”

The Community Challenge grant program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which helps communities become great places to live for residents of all ages. View the full list of grantees and their project descriptions at www.aarp.org/communitychallenge and view an interactive map of all of the Community Challenge projects and AARP Alaska’s livable communities work at www.aarp.org/livable.