Bikeshare Hawai'i, Trust for Public Land awarded Community Challenge Grants

Communities across Hawai‘i are working each and every day to become more livable for residents of all ages.

In support of that work, AARP is excited to be able to provide funding to organizations through the AARP Community Challenge to help them jumpstart progress on ongoing work. These “quick action” grants are being distributed to 129 organizations, with at least one in every state, Washington D.C, and Puerto Rico, including right here in Hawai‘i. The Community Challenge grants provide communities with the chance to fund innovative projects that can inspire change in areas such as transportation, open spaces, housing, and other innovative projects to improve the community and make Hawai‘i’s counties, cities, towns and rural areas better places to live.

The Community Challenge is part of AARP’s work on livable communities, which supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and counties across the country to become great places for all residents. We believe that communities should provide safe, walkable streets; affordable and accessible housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for residents to participate in community life.

After a successful 2017, with 90 grantees, this initiative is now in its 2 ^nd year, and it has increased its investment to over $1.3 million in the form of 129 grants.

Here in Hawai‘i, we are excited about the work that the Community Challenge Grants are supporting in 2018. The recipients are:

• Bikeshare Hawaii for a program that promotes bikeshare and biking to older Hawaii residents, including a tailored “Introduction to Bikeshare” workshop and Social Rides geared toward older adults.
• The Trust for Public Land for the Lei of Parks Family Day Pop Up event on Sept. 1, 2018. The event will connect Ala Moana Beach Park, Kewalo Basin Park and Kaka‘ako Waterfront park with temporary signage, programs, games and other activites to promote healthy activity and draw attention to the “Lei of Parks” along Oahu’s South Shore.

“These two projects highlight and support our community’s desire for a livable Age-friendly Honolulu that has an abundance of beautiful places where residents of all ages can walk, bike and enjoy the outdoors,” said Barbara Kim Stanton, state director of AARP Hawai‘i.

To learn more about the work being funded by the AARP Community Challenge grant program both here in Hawai‘i as well as across the nation, visit us at aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. And to learn more about how AARP is working to make communities across Hawai‘i and across the U.S. more livable for all residents, visit aarp.org/livable.