AARP awards community grants to six Florida organizations as part of record-breaking year for nationwide program

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

In support of that work, AARP is excited to announce the largest number of grantees and funds to-date through the Community Challenge grant program. These “quick action” grants are being distributed to 184 organizations across all 50 states, Washington D.C, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Community Challenge funds innovative projects that inspire change in areas such as transportation, public spaces, housing, smart cities, civic engagement, coronavirus response and more.

AARP Florida is incredibly proud to have six grantees right here in our state. Our goal is to support their efforts to create great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities and the coronavirus pandemic has only underscored the importance of this work.

Here in Florida, these exciting and diverse projects were funded:

• City of Fort Pierce Police Department will provide a new community-based, easily accessed resource to share health, safety and wellness information along with internet access so that low-income residents can more easily access benefits.
  
• City of Gainesville Online Civic Hackathon will bring together people of all ages and backgrounds to co-design a more livable city using Human-Centered Design ideation strategies, new technologies, and the City’s Open Data Portal.
  
• City of Sunrise will support the installation of five Bike "Fix-it" stations and five artistic bike racks, along with vibrant sidewalk art.
  
• Curry Ford West, in Orange County will create a pop-up park project with local artists using recycled materials, in the form of a labyrinth, specifically designed to help promote physical distancing on an empty privately-owned lot along a main street.
  
• Goodwood Museum and Gardens, Inc. in Tallahassee will revitalize a historic roller rink from 1916 for outdoor activities with a new ADA-accessible sidewalk, lighting, murals and game boards that promote physical activity at a safe social distance.
  
• Highway Park Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement District in Lake Placid will install a first of its kind in the community, 10-Stop Fitness Trail in the MLK Jr. Sports Field Park.
  

The Community Challenge is part of AARP’s nationwide 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.

To learn more about the work being funded by the AARP Community Challenge both here in Florida as well as across the nation, visit aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. You can also view an interactive map of all of the Community Challenge projects and AARP Florida’s livable communities work at aarp.org/livable.