AARP Awards Three Hawai`i Organizations with Community Grants

Projects to beautify 11.5 miles of Farrington Highway, make an intersection near Ewa Beach Elementary School safer and to have schoolchildren reach out to isolated kupuna will receive 2020 Community Challenge grants totaling $42,000.

The grantees are among 184 organizations nationwide that received $4.2 million for “quick action” projects to create more livable communities across all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here in Hawai`i, projects funded are:

• Blue Zones Project Hawai`i: To create culturally-inspired street curb extensions on Papipi Road near Ewa Beach Elementary School to beautify the roadway and increase pedestrian safety. ($7,000)
• Hawai`i Afterschool Alliance, Blue Zones Project Hawai`i, and Age-Friendly Honolulu: To develop intergenerational connections between older adults and students across Hawai`i through virtual, meaningful conversations and activities. ($10,000)
• Making Dreams Come True, Valley of Rainbows: To beautify City and State-owned traffic utility lightboxes along Farrington Highway, a stretch of 11.5 miles, with art contributed from local artists. ($25,000)

“Community Challenge grants encourage people to come up with ideas to bring people together and make their communities better places to live. The best ideas are then funded to become reality,” shared AARP Hawai`i State Director Keali`i Lopez. “Our goal at AARP Hawai`i is to support the efforts of our communities to be great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities and the coronavirus pandemic has only underscored the importance of this work.”

Since the Community Challenge Grant program started in 2017, ten Hawai`i projects have received $112,050 to improve and create parks, engage students to think about making Chinatown more age-friendly using video games, encourage bicycle sharing by older residents and making streets safer.

To find out about the next round of Community Challenge grants, follow AARP Hawai`i on Facebook or sign up for AARP's Livable Communities Newsletter.

All of this year’s projects are expected to be completed by December 18, 2020, and are designed to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

• Create vibrant public places by improving open spaces and parks and activating main streets.
• Deliver a range of transportation and mobility options by increasing connectivity, walkability, bikeability, wayfinding, and access a wider range of transportation choices.
• Encourage the availability of a range of housing by increasing accessible and affordable housing solutions.
• Increase civic engagement and demonstrate the tangible value of “Smart Cities” by bringing together local leaders and residents from all backgrounds to address challenges.
• Support coronavirus response and recovery efforts by ensuring older adults’ access to information, essential services, and civic life.

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 Hawai`i’s livable communities work at www.aarp.org/livable.