AARP New Mexico Awards Three Organizations 2023 Community Challenge Grants

AARP New Mexico announced June 28^th that three organizations, located in Alamogordo, Las Cruces and Farmington, will receive 2023 Community Challenge grants – part of the largest group of grantees to date with $3.6 million awarded among 310 organizations nationwide.

Communities across New Mexico are working to become more livable for residents of all ages. AARP is working 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 investment of grant dollars to date through the Community Challenge grant program. More than $3.6 million in quick-action grants are being distributed to 310 organizations across all 50 states, Washington D.C, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“AARP New Mexico is incredibly proud of this year’s state grantees,” said Joseph P. Sanchez, AARP New Mexico State Director. “Our goal is to support their efforts to create great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities to live.”

“AARP New Mexico is committed to working with local leaders to improve residents’ quality of life and while these projects are relatively small, they can have a big impact on their communities, improving things like safety and revitalizing areas,” Sanchez said.

New Mexico projects funded include:

• Farmington -- Northwest New Mexico Arts Council: The Art in the Alley project is designed to cover the exterior walls of several downtown businesses with murals and historic images making for a pleasant pedestrian walkway to tour the heart of Farmington‘s Arts and Cultural District. 
  
• Alamogordo -- Alamogordo MainStreet:  This project will beautify alleys that visitors will use to access businesses during an upcoming streetscape construction project on Alamogordo's main street. The grant will repair surfaces, making them safer for walking, and add benches and flowers, shade and LED lighting.
  
• Las Cruces -- Cruces Creatives: This project will let community members of all ages beautify a revitalizing urban core through a paint-by-numbers mural on the wall of a nonprofit makerspace, while learning about volunteering options and social connections through the nonprofit. 
  

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. AARP believes 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico’s livable communities work at aarp.org/livable.

The AARP Community Challenge funds innovative projects that inspire change in areas such as public places; housing; transportation; diversity, equity, and inclusion; digital connections; community resilience; and more.

This year, AARP is also bolstering its investment in rural communities, mobility innovation, transportation options, and health and food access.