AARP Awards $20K Grant to Rice Street Business Association

A Kaua‘i organization will receive a portion of nearly $50,000 in grant funds from the 2022 AARP Community Challenge.

Rice Street Business Association was awarded $20,000 to create Complete Streets, placemaking and public art projects in Līhu‘e. The projects include rainbow crosswalk art, bus shelter murals, Wi-Fi hot spots, native street trees and community gardens.

Three organizations in Windward O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and Moloka‘i were awarded grants through the AARP program totaling $49,500, which is part of $3.4 million awarded among 260 organizations nationwide. Grantees will implement quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places; transportation; housing; diversity, equity and inclusion; digital access; and civic engagement, with an emphasis on the needs of adults 50 and older.

“AARP Hawai‘i is committed to working with communities to improve residents’ quality of life through tangible changes,” Keali‘i Lopez, AARP Hawai’i state director, said in a press release. “We are proud to collaborate with this year’s grantees as they make immediate improvements in their communities to jumpstart long-term change, especially for kupuna ages 50 and over.”

Projects must be completed by Nov.30.

This year, AARP is bolstering its investment of affordable and adaptable housing solutions in response to the national housing crisis. With additional funding support from Toyota Motor North America, the program is also increasing its support of projects that improve mobility innovation and transportation options.

The grant program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports efforts of communities to become great places to live for people of all ages. Since the Community Challenge program started in 2017, 20 Hawai‘i projects have received a total of $234,366.

For more information, click here. To learn more about AARP’s livable communities work, click here.