AARP awards community grants to five Kansas organizations as part of another record-breaking year for nationwide program 

Communities across Kansas are working to become more livable for residents of all ages.

And, AARP is working across Kansas in partnership with local leaders, organizations and dedicated residents to help make that vision a reality. As part of that effort, AARP is excited to announce the largest number of projects to-date through the Community Challenge program. These quick-action grants are being distributed to 244 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, diversity and inclusion, civic engagement, coronavirus response and more.

AARP Kansas is incredibly proud to have five 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 as local leaders seek to better their communities for the future, this is even more critical.

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

• Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, Fort Scott - creation of a learning trail for interactive story rails about unsung heroes in a new city park

• Flint Hills Metropolitan Planning Organization, Manhattan - roadway pedestrian safety improvements

• City of Bartlett, Labette County - development of a city-owned park to create a community gathering space
  

• Rosedale Development Association, Kansas City, Kansas - repairs to a community gathering room

• City of Savonburg, Allen County - development of a community 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 Kansas 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 Kansas’s livable communities work at aarp.org/livable.