Every January, AARP’s national Age Friendly/Livable Communities initiative offers a Community Challenge Grant program to help communities make tangible improvements that jump-start long-term change. These small grants help cities, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. See https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/
Some $3.8 million is being invested across the country through 343 quick-action projects, helping urban, rural and suburban communities make immediate improvements and jump-start progress to support residents of all ages. This year, all four of Nevada’s grant winners are in Reno/Sparks!
On July 25, from 9am to 11am, AARP Nevada and Age Friendly Reno hosted a Sweet Summer Celebration at Paradise Park to honor all the Community Challenge grantees. The four winning projects were showcased, and community leaders, seniors and neighbors of Paradise Park enjoyed some summer snacks, games and learned more about local programs and resources for seniors. Here are the Nevada winners:
Center for Healthy Aging (CHA), working with our Age Friendly Reno team, got $12,500 to enhance Paradise Park and its Community Garden by installing shuffleboard and bocce courts and benches to attract all ages of our community to visit there. Marta Malone, CHA Program Officer said, “We’re excited to install these outdoor sport courts for local seniors, families and neighbors there. When we all work together, we can create a more beautiful, fun, welcoming and safe space for people of all ages.”The benches will add to the park and CHA’s Dig-In-To-Grow Healthy project that partners with Reno Food Systems and the City of Reno to offer an intergenerational hands-on nutrition, gardening and indigenous culture experience. Contact Johanna at 775 525 1340 for more information.
In addition to our outdoor project, Our AARP Age Friendly Reno team invites you to join us on Wednesday Walks in Paradise Park, 2745 Elementary Drive, Reno at 8am. Visit the park, get some exercise and make some new friends. Register at https://local.aarp.org/reno-nv/aarp-events/866-389-5652.
City of Sparks received $11,900 to create go-kits and emergency preparedness info for seniors. They will work with Project Bear Hugs (an organization that provides disaster relief supplies and comfort items to those impacted by disasters), Sparks Fire Department, Meals on Wheels and other community partners to gather items for the bags such as batteries, cellphone chargers, solar radios, pill containers and more. Mel Evans, their grant manager said, “It’s great to have partners in the community who are helping us fill the 400+ go-kits that will be distributed to seniors at Meals on Wheels sites and by Sparks firefighters.
City of Reno was awarded $11,900 to offer more free technology classes for older adults in English and Spanish. Izabella Baumann, Reno’s Senior Engagement Coordinator reported, “If you are interested in learning how to use your Android or iPhone smartphone, we have two-part classes at various locations to teach basic and advanced skills on how to use your smartphone. Seats go fast!” To register, kindly fill out this form.
Downtown Reno Partnership received $2500 to host six walk audits in three dining districts.
The mission of these walk audits will be to evaluate connectivity between downtown dining & entertainment districts like The Riverwalk, Brewery District, Neon Line, and Arch Area. They will also look at connectivity to the University.
Nathan Digangi, the Partnership’s Economic Development Director said, “Downtown Reno is a destination with diverse dining and entertainment across multiple neighborhoods and commercial areas that are not well-connected. This project seeks to better understand which areas are most disjointed by discovering how to improve walkability and connectivity in Downtown Reno, particularly for older adults, to enhance their access to dining districts and community engagement opportunities.”
Feel free to contact me at [email protected] or call 775-240-2745 for more information.
