AARP Awards 2021 Community Challenge Grant to Miami Beach Pride

AARP Awards 2021 Community Challenge Grant to Miami Beach Pride

The Legacy Couples Exhibit will bring to life 400+ years of love through 30 stories told by 15 same-sex couples

Cheryl Lockwood and Cindy Bender \ 39 years

Miami, Fla. – Miami Beach Pride has been named a recipient of a 2021 AARP Community Challenge Grant, one of eight grantees selected in Florida. The grant will support a museum exhibition featuring large-scale portraits and audio-stories that will bring to life 400+ years of love through stories told by same-sex couples to positively enforce that love always wins.

AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said, “We are excited to support Miami Beach Pride as they share this meaningful exhibit with their community. Supporting The Legacy Couples Project as a large-scale portrait and audio exhibition will encourage promising ideas and inspire storytelling in the Miami Beach community. Our goal at AARP Florida is to support local efforts to build great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities.”

Dennis Edwards & Mark Steinberg \ 36 years

Director of Grants & Cultural Affairs for Miami Beach Pride Carol Coombes said, “AARP’s mission is to empower people to choose how they live as they age and it's a beautiful and natural fit that we are a recipient of an AARP Challenge Grant Award for The Legacy Couples Project: 400+ Years of LGBTQ Love. This exhibit featuring commissioned large-scale portraits and audio stories told to queer youth in collaboration with HistoryMiami Museum and the YES Institute will be accessible to the public for free. The audio stories will be permanently archived and accessible online at HMM Miami Stories/SoundCloud Site https://soundcloud.com/miamistories.”

Across the nation, a total of $3.2 million has been awarded to 244 project grantees this year. Grantees will implement quick-action projects to promote livable communities by improving housing, transportation, public spaces, civic engagement, and connection with family, friends, and neighbors with an emphasis on the needs of the 50-plus. Many of this year’s awards support revitalizing communities adversely impacted by the pandemic and include a focus on diversity, inclusion, and disparities.

All projects are expected to be completed by November 10, 2021, and are designed to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

• Create vibrant public places by improving open spaces and parks and activating main streets.

• Deliver a range of transportation and mobility options by increasing connectivity, walkability, bikeability, wayfinding, and access a wider range of transportation choices.

• Encourage the availability of a range of housing by increasing accessible and affordable housing solutions.

• Increase civic engagement by bringing together residents and local leaders to address challenges and facilitate a greater sense of inclusion.

• Ensure a focus on diversity and inclusion while improving the built and social environment of a community.

• Support local recovery from the coronavirus pandemic by emphasizing economic development, improvements to public spaces, and transportation services.

The full list of grantees can be found at www.aarp.org/communitychallenge.

The Community Challenge grant program is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. View the full list of grantees and their project descriptions at www.aarp.org/communitychallenge and learn more about AARP’s livable communities work at www.aarp.org/livable.

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About AARP

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates, @AliadosAdelante on social media. ​