The Acosta Foundation has been selected as a 2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee

VILLE PLATTE– July 28, 2021 – The Acosta Foundation is thrilled to announce we have been
selected to receive a 2021 AARP Community Challenge grant. We are one of only 244 grantees
selected from across all 50 states, Washington D.C, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
With this “quick-action” grant, and in collaboration with the Evangeline Chamber of Commerce,
we will continue our efforts to REFRESH Ville Platte’s Main Street with a tribute to the Tee
Cotton Bowl and its history of bringing the whole community together through an athletic event.
The Acosta Foundation is working in partnership with Ville Platte native artist Thaddeus Arvie
to create a large-scale mural on the west wall of the Joan and Ronnie Landreneau building at 309
W. Main Street. In addition to further beautifying the city, the mural will be a reminder that the
game between the Sacred Heart Trojans and Ville Platte Bulldogs is about winning at life and
demonstrates that diverse rural communities can work and live together harmoniously. Work is
scheduled to begin immediately.
“We are incredibly proud that AARP selected The Acosta Foundation to receive this grant,”
stated Founder & President Connie Lamke. “AARP is a nationwide leader on making
neighborhoods, towns, and cities more livable for all residents and we are honored that they see
the tangible value this project will bring to our community.”
About the Community Challenge
The Community Challenge funds innovative projects that inspire change in areas such as
transportation, public spaces, housing, diversity and inclusion, civic engagement, coronavirus
recovery and more.
It’s all part of AARP’s nationwide work on livable communities, which supports the efforts of
neighborhoods, towns, cities and counties across the country to become great places for all
residents. AARP believes that communities should provide safe, walkable streets; affordable and
accessible housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for
residents to participate in community life.
To learn more about the work being funded by the AARP Community Challenge across the
nation – including all 244 granted projects this year, visit aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. You
can also view an interactive map of all Community Challenge projects and AARP’s livable
communities work at aarp.org/livable.

The Acosta Foundation is committed to "Improving Lives, One Donation at a Time." A
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Acosta Foundation, demonstrates its passion for serving
and improving communities by assisting other nonprofit organizations in Louisiana to meet their
charitable and philanthropic goals and focusing on causes important to the communities it
serves. Headquartered in Ville Platte, LA, The Acosta Foundation is a leader in organizing and
conducting cause-based fundraisers/events. Board members also each lead annual fundraising
efforts for causes of their choice.

The Acosta Foundation is also a driving force behind efforts to revitalize local rural
communities, provide food for those impacted by the pandemic and hurricanes, improving the
lives of veterans, seniors in nursing and assisted care facilities, indigent cancer patients, and
residents struggling to attain basic household needs.

Visit www.theacostafoundation.org for more information.