AARP Community Challenge Grants Invest in Washington Communities

Communities across Washington 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.

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.

AARP Washington is incredibly proud to have 13 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. As local leaders seek to better their communities for the future, this becomes even more critical.

To date, AARP has invested more than $280,000 in grant money to fund programs throughout the state. In 2023, these exciting and diverse projects were funded:

• Spokane County Master Gardener Foundation - This project will add 12 raised beds to an existing community garden and donate surplus produce to a local senior center and a church.
  
• Homage Senior Services - This project will provide fare-free rides to older adults, making transit more accessible and affordable while also demonstrating the benefits of rural transit routes in underserved communities.
  
• Sustainable Connections - This project will launch an accessory dwelling unit design competition and make plans for ADUs available to the public in order to promote the housing solution, particularly for older residents.
  
• Elizabeth Gregory Home - The project will renovate the Home's Day Center to improve accessibility, launch health education sessions, and offer holistic support for low-income older adults, particularly women experiencing homelessness and economic insecurity.
  
• Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties – The project will permanently establish the organization's CAPABLE program, which provides access to occupational therapists and registered nurses who do home assessments and develop a work plan to help older clients continue to live independently.
  
• Seattle Metro Pickleball Association - The project will provide permanent pickleball nets in Seattle, enabling more older adults to participate in the age-friendly sport.
  
• South End Neighborhood Council - This project will create a 40' x 18' Sensory Garden within a tree-lined greenspace and mural walk. Plants are chosen to provide sight, sound, touch, taste, and scent experiences. Pictorial signage will provide information for nonverbal participants.
  
• Bethlehem Baptist Church - This project creates an urban oasis out of a parking lot with raised garden beds in a culturally diverse area with a food desert. The garden will provide fresh fruits and vegetables and a place to commune with neighbors.
  
• Peninsula Senior Activity Center - This project will create a community garden at the Peninsula Senior Activity Center by building three raised gardening beds. The beds will be 3 different sizes and configurations to accommodate those who are agile and those who are gardening from a wheelchair or walker, offering accessibility options.
  
• Fairfield Community Garden & Food Co-Op - The Fairfield Food Co-op is a community initiative to empower families to grow, preserve, and cook garden produce. The project will provide classes on garden design, seed starting, harvesting, preserving, and everything in between.
  
• Atlantic Street Center – This grant helps the ASC Kinship Cares Support program, which is designed to empower formal and informal caregivers to become healthy, self-sufficient individuals so they can provide stable and loving homes to the children in their care. This comprehensive person-centered program focuses on peer support and mentorship, financial assistance, and tailored training.
  
• A Caring Closet – A Caring Closet provides gently used Durable Medical Equipment to those in need at no cost in Clark County, Washington. The grant would enable expansion to surrounding counties (Cowlitz, Skamania, Klickitat).
  
• VFW 992 – The grant will help fund a wheelchair-access ramp and new ADA-compliant doors to make the building safer and more accessible for members and the community.

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 Washington 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 Washington’s livable communities work at aarp.org/livable.