In Texas, AARP Community Challenge Grants To Help Make Communities Great Places For Everyone

Communities across Texas are working each and every day to become more livable for residents of all ages.

In support of that work, AARP is excited to be able to provide funding to organizations through the AARP Community Challenge, now in its third year. These “quick action” grants are being distributed to 159 organizations, with at least one in every state, Washington D.C, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including right here in Texas.

The Community Challenge grants fund innovative projects that can inspire change in areas such as transportation, open spaces, housing, smart cities and more.

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.

After funding 217 projects between 2017 and 2018, AARP has increased its investment to nearly $1.6 million for 159 projects this year. Here in Texas, we are excited about the work that the Community Challenge Grants are supporting this year. The grantees include:

• The City of Allen is awarded $5,996 for the purchase of electric- and pedal-powered adult tricycles to allow people with varying levels of mobility to access and enjoy local trail systems and recreational areas.

• The City of Brownsville is awarded $20,000 for a project to transform Brownsville’s 14^th Street Plaza from an unkempt and underutilized space into a vibrant, inclusive, safe, clean and beautiful multi-generational public space.

• The City of Richardson is awarded $15,200 for a transportation demonstration project at a major thoroughfare that involves replacing driving lanes with a bicycle lane and an artistic pedestrian crosswalk. The concept aims to make streets safer and more pedestrian friendly.

To learn more about the work being funded by the AARP Community Challenge both here in Texas as well as across the nation, visit aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. And to learn more about how AARP is working to make communities across Texas and across the U.S. more livable for all residents, visit aarp.org/livable.

Meet the 2019 #AARPCommunityChallenge Grant winners: https://t.co/jz3qu7yuoy

Congratulations to all the communities! pic.twitter.com/rIkIQlT15a

— AARP Livable Communities (@AARPLivable) July 17, 2019