New Concert Space, Pickleball for Grant Winners

This summer four Iowa communities received AARP Community Challenge grants to jump-start beautification and accessibility projects. The Iowa grants, which totaled more than $17,000, will help the Avoca Public Library build a musical park for concerts and a green space for gatherings, enable the Keokuk Parks Foundation to convert tennis courts into dedicated pickleball courts, fund decorative lighting on Main Street in Manning, and share the Woodbine community’s history by mounting signs on buildings and in pocket parks along Main Street.

AARP Iowa staff traveled to the four grant-recipient communities and presented checks to local organizers and residents.
City council members, two mayors and two state senators attended the events.

AARP’s Community Challenge grants are raising awareness about the needs of smaller communities in the state and opening doors to other state-funded grant opportunities.