City of Beaver Dam Receives Community Challenge Grant for Doors to Our Past Project

City of Beaver Dam Receives Community Challenge Grant for Downtown Renascence Project “Doors to Our Past”

OWENSBORO, KY — The City of Beaver Dam was selected to receive an AARP Community Challenge grant, one of six (6) grantees chosen statewide in 2022. The $12,000 grant will be used in the “Doors to Our Past” downtown renascence project. AARP Kentucky presented the City of Beaver Dam Mayor Paul Sandefur a check for $12,000 at today’s Green River Area Development District Board meeting at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame Museum.

The City of Beaver Dam is undergoing a renascence of its downtown area. The “Doors to the Past” project was created to complement its downtown revitalization with community involvement, volunteer work, and social awareness of the city's historical background. The project uses old wooden doors as the canvas for innovative artwork. Local artists, senior citizens, interested volunteers, and public workers will work jointly to create door designs highlighting the history of the city. The city plans a total of 15 old wooden doors for its project. The door art designs will be flexible and include suggestions offered by individuals in the community.

This project is part of the largest group of grantees to date with $3.4 million awarded among 260 organizations nationwide. Grantees will implement quick-action projects that help communities become more livable in the long-term by improving public places; transportation; housing; diversity, equity and inclusion; digital access; and civic engagement, with an emphasis on the needs of adults age 50 and over.

All projects are expected to be completed by November 30, 2022, 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.
• Ensure a focus on diversity and inclusion while improving the built and social environment of a community.
• Support communities’ efforts to build engagement and leverage funding available under new federal programs through laws including the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and more
• Increase Civic Engagement with innovative and tangible projects that bring residents and local leaders together to address challenges and facilitate a greater sense of inclusion.
• Other community improvements, including Health Services, Community Development, and Coronavirus Pandemic Recovery.

“We are incredibly excited to support the “Doors to Our Past” as they work to make immediate improvements, encourage promising ideas and jumpstart long-term change in Beaver Dam,” said Charlotte Whittaker, AARP Kentucky volunteer State President. “Our goal at AARP Kentucky is to support the efforts of our communities to be great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities.”

Since 2017, AARP Kentucky has awarded 24 grants and some $256,500 through the program to nonprofit organizations and government entities across the state. The Community Challenge grant program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods, and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. View the full list of grantees and their project descriptions at www.aarp.org/communitychallenge and learn more about AARP’s livable communities work at www.aarp.org/livable.

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About AARP

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates, @AliadosAdelante on social media.​