AARP announces Community Challenge grants for Omaha projects

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AARP announces two Nebraska winners for its 2018 AARP Community Challenge grant program to help communities make immediate improvements and jumpstart long-term progress to support residents of all ages. A total of $1.3 million will be distributed to fund 129 “quick action” projects across the country. Nearly 1,600 applications were received from non-profits and government entities for the program, now in its second year. Each of the projects, which must be completed by November 5, is designed to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

• Deliver a range of transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability, and/or access to public and private transit.
• Create vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities.
• Support the availability of a range of housing that increases accessible and affordable housing options.
• Address other issues of importance for communities.

Nebraska’s winning projects, both located along 24 ^th St. in North Omaha, include improvements to public space and a neighborhood festival to bring communities together. The grant recipients are the City of Omaha and ONE Omaha, a community-led program for neighborhood engagement.

“AARP is pleased to support fresh and innovative approaches from local leaders to make Omaha more livable for people of all ages,” said Connie Benjamin, state director of AARP Nebraska. “We are excited to watch these projects come to life in the next weeks and months, which will reap near immediate benefits for the area’s residents.”

The City of Omaha’s project will support outdoor physical activity, active transportation and activation of public space with park-like benches at bus stops, planters for accessible gardening near senior housing and temporary, interactive art installations in a vacant lot.

ONE Omaha will use its grant to host Omaha NeighborFest2018: Activating People, Places and Spaces. With an emphasis on hands-on learning, the Sept. 2 festival will feature project demonstrations, neighborhood tours, walk audits, a variety of community-engaged local vendors and live music.

The full list of grantees can be found at www.aarp.org/communitychallenge.

“AARP has teams on the ground in communities across the country who hear from mayors, community leaders and local residents about the value of getting quick wins to create long-term change. We developed the Community Challenge Grant Program to answer that call and help build momentum for more livable communities nationwide,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President, Community, State and National Affairs. “This year, we are proud to fund more projects in more communities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.”

The Community Challenge grant program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative that helps communities become great places to live for residents of all ages. AARP staff and volunteers are working with roughly 300 communities across the country, engaging and mobilizing community residents, delivering technical assistance and expertise to local leaders and organizations, and supporting the work of the 275 communities and two states that have enrolled in the AARP Network of Age Friendly States and Communities.  AARP also provides resources and publications to encourage local action such as the Roadmap to Livability and the AARP book-series Where We Live: Communities for All Ages.

To learn more about AARP’s livable communities work in communities across the country and the AARP Community Challenge please visit www.aarp.org/livable.