Two Tucson nonprofit organizations were awarded AARP grants with a combined total of $12,000 to create art and to beautify a community garden.
The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance was awarded $7,000 to work with residents of assisted living communities and with hospital patients on art projects.
Brendon Blake, an AARP Arizona senior specialist, said the alliance plans to work with more than 700 people, including residents of 19 senior living communities and service organizations. They also will work with VA Medical Center patients through an Arts Care Package Campaign.
The campaign will include diverse creative experiences, including music, craft kits, journaling and do it yourself art projects, said Blake.
“Those participating can create the art themselves or work with others on their project,” Blake said. “AARP’s goal is for the communities that we live in to be vibrant places where we can grow up and grow old,” he said.
The grant is “one way that we help push our mission forward so our communities can be livable for all,” said Blake.
The Primavera Foundation received $5,000 to renovate La Capilla Community Garden in South Tucson. Primavera, a nonprofit organization, will better the community garden by working on its walkways and making spaces more accessible. The project also includes creating artwork and raising the garden beds, said Blake.
The renovations will also include the installation of a sink, a washing station, and the purchase of tools. The garden is located at the bend of South Ninth Avenue and West 34th Street.
Both projects will begin next month and are expected to be completed by December.
This year AARP distributed more than $2.4 million in Community Challenge grants among nearly 200 organizations nationwide to create projects.
The grant program began allocations in 2017, and Tucson groups received monies for projects the last three years, said Blake.
“Our goal at AARP Arizona is to support the efforts of our communities to be great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities and the coronavirus pandemic has only underscored the importance of this work,” said Dana Marie Kennedy, the organization’s state director.
Wylwyn Reyes, exhibition director, and Eric Richardson, preparator, work on the Museum of Contemporary Art's newest exhibit the Jibade-Khalil …
