AARP Community Challenge Grant awarded to Haigler Community Foundation

HAIGLER— The Haigler Community Foundation has been named a recipient of a 2020 AARP Community Challenge grant, one of three grantees selected in Nebraska.

The $5,000 grant will help fund a restroom in the Haigler Cornerstone Museum that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new restroom will pave the way for the community to work with the State of Nebraska to designate the Haigler Museum Complex on Highway 34 as a state tourist visitor center. The complex includes the Cornerstone Museum, One Room Country School House Museum, and Conoco Station Museum.

Grantee spokesman and President of the Haigler Community Foundation, LaNeta Carlock, shared these thoughts upon notification of the award: “The Haigler Community Foundation is honored and most appreciative of this AARP Community Challenge Grant which enables us to continue with our vision of ‘what can be’ even in the midst of difficult times with the Covid 19 Pandemic. With this support from AARP, both at the state and national levels, the Haigler Community Foundation can continue to make a difference in our small rural community. Thanks so much AARP for caring!”

This project is part of the largest number of Community Challenge grants to date with more than $2.4 million awarded among 184 organizations nationwide. Grantees will implement “quick-action” projects to create more livable communities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All projects are expected to be completed by December 18, 2020, 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 and demonstrate the tangible value of “Smart Cities” by bringing together local leaders and residents from all backgrounds to address challenges.

Support coronavirus response and recovery efforts by ensuring older adults’ access to information, essential services, and civic life.

“We are incredibly excited to support the Haigler Community Foundation as they work to make immediate improvements in Haigler, encourage promising ideas and jumpstart long-term change,” shared Todd Stubbendieck, state director of AARP Nebraska. “Our goal at AARP Nebraska 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.”

Other Nebraska grantees include the NeighborWorks Lincoln and the City of Hebron. 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 helps communities become great places to live for residents of all ages. View an interactive map of all of the Community Challenge projects and AARP Nebraska’s livable communities work at www.aarp.org/livable.

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 or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

About GRANTEE

The Haigler Community Foundation is a non profit 50l(c)3 charitable foundation with a mission to improve quality of life in Haigler and Dundy County Nebraska through community service offerings; and to encourage tax deductible donations for continuing operations of the Haigler Museums and Cornerstone Center for Community Service (former closed Haigler School buildings, now a major event center for the area. For the past 20 years, promising ideas, innovative projects, and lots of hard work by volunteers have kept this small rural community alive and well.