AARP Connecticut Commits Thousands of Dollars to Strengthen Communities Across State

Six Recipients Part of AARP Connecticut’s Eighth Livable Communities Grant Program

AARP Connecticut today announced that it has selected six recipients of the 2025 Livable Communities Grant Program, a state extension of the national AARP Community Challenge grant initiative. Now in its eighth year, the grant program funds quick-action projects that help Connecticut’s neighborhoods, towns and cities be great places to live for people of all ages. AARP Connecticut has awarded grants for 51 projects across the state since the inception of the program in 2018.

“AARP Connecticut’s Livable Communities Grant Program, combined with our national Community Challenge initiative, provides us with tremendous and rewarding opportunities to work with leaders and advocates across the state on projects that are helping make communities more livable for people of all ages,” said Nora Duncan, AARP Connecticut State Director. “These grants are about supporting ideas and projects that make everyday life better for everyone.”

AARP Connecticut launched the Livable Communities Grant Program to provide nonprofit organizations and municipalities in Connecticut with up to $5,000 for projects that help make immediate improvements or jumpstart long-term progress that will support residents. The program is open to incorporated organizations that are 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofits and Connecticut municipalities who seek to make improvements in their neighborhood or community in Connecticut. The 2025 recipients are:

CityCenter Danbury
This grant will support the launch of the “Free Little Card Barn” community initiative focused on the cost-free sharing of greeting cards of all kinds. Housed in an accessible location in downtown Danbury, the Free Little Card Barn will be open to all and allow community members to take a card, leave a card (or two) and more through events such as card-making workshops with a focus on inclusivity, accessibility, communication, and community-building.

Daily Bread Food Pantry
Daily Bread Food Pantry, the largest volunteer-run operation in northern Fairfield County, will use this funding to purchase a commercial double glass door freezer for its innovative new super pantry where all food is free of charge. The freezer will further the pantry’s mission of providing thousands of residents with a dignified, normalized shopping experience.

Ebony Horsewomen
With this grant, Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. will transform the outdoor space at the Mary Fields Museum into the Mary Fields Heritage Reflection Patio, a scenic, accessible area designed for seniors to relax, socialize, and enjoy the cultural heritage of the Black Cowboy. Featuring comfortable seating, game tables, a reflecting pool, and views of the horses, this welcoming space promotes wellness, social connection, and cultural enrichment for older adults in Hartford.

Oronoque Village
Funding from this grant will support the installation of two adjustable louvered pergolas in the recreation area of the Oronoque Village 55+ community in Stratford, providing residents with a shaded, accessible, and safer space for outdoor activities.

San Juan Center
With funding from this grant, the San Juan Center will convert an underutilized outdoor area at the low-income independent living Nuestra Casa property in Hartford into an accessible, shaded recreation and activity space. The renovation will support aging in place by reducing isolation and promoting physical and emotional wellbeing through programs like gardening, chair yoga, and social gatherings.

The Blue Door Foundation
The Blue Door Foundation – a volunteer run non-profit organization that aims to provide free, gently used or new, cleaned and repaired durable medical equipment and supplies to all people in need, regardless of insurance status – will use the funding from this grant to better serve the community.

Projects can range from small, short-term activities to larger, permanent solutions, but they must be completed within 12 months of receiving the funding. Grant applications were evaluated for projects in Connecticut with a focus on improving the lives of those 50+ and making a positive impact within one of the following 8 Domains of Livability:

• Outdoor spaces and buildings
• Transportation
• Housing
• Social Participation
• Respect and Social Inclusion
• Work and Civic Engagement
• Communication and Information
• Community and Health Services

While AARP Connecticut’s Livable Communities Grant Program is only open to Connecticut towns and nonprofits, AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative funds projects in all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. AARP announced on June 18 that it will fund 383 projects across the country in 2025, including five in Connecticut, as part of its ninth annual AARP Community Challenge grant program. More than one thousand projects have been funded since grant program began in 2017.

AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative also provides resources and publications to encourage local action such as the Roadmap to Livability and the AARP book-series Where We Live: Communities for All Ages. To learn more about AARP’s livable communities work in communities across the country please visit www.aarp.org/livable.