AARP Community Challenge Winners Announced!

AARP is excited to announce the largest investment of grant dollars to date through the AARP Community Challenge grant program which aims to make communities more livable for people of all ages, with a focus on people age 50+. More than $4.2 million in quick-action grants are being distributed to 383 projects across all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

AARP Illinois is incredibly proud to have 9 projects granted right here in our state. Our goal is to support their efforts to create great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities. As local leaders seek to better their communities for the future, this becomes even more critical.

The program is funding projects across three different grant opportunities, including flagship grants, capacity-building microgrants, and demonstration grants. Here in Illinois, these exciting projects were funded:

· Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley will provide critical home modifications for low-income adults in and around Elgin, Illinois.

· Levy Senior Center in Evanston will host an 8-workshop series to empower older adults with digital skills.

· The Heritage Park Redevelopment Project will add accessible seating and a .25-mile all-weather walking path to Erie, Illinois' public park.

· Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago will provide free home modifications to improve safety and accessibility for 22 low-income older adults and their families in Chicago and suburban Cook County.

· Blackhawk Hills Regional Council will hold a rural design competition to create scalable, modular blueprints for multigenerational housing. Entries must be affordable, sustainable, and incorporate universal design principles. Winning designs will be freely available for use in Northwest Illinois.

· Edgewater Chamber of Commerce will transform the intersection of Devon and Magnolia with colorful, artistic crosswalks to slow traffic and enhance pedestrian safety.

· Cycle Brookfield will conduct three bike audits of essential north-south routes across Brookfield in summer and fall 2025 to build a low-stress and safe bicycle network.

· Orchard Village in Skokie, Illinois will provide disaster preparedness training to trainers at agencies supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

· The City of Kewanee, Illinois will host two knowledge sharing events will focus on home modifications to help older adults live safely and comfortably in their homes.

The AARP Community Challenge grant program is 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. We believe that communities should provide safe, walkable streets; affordable and accessible housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for residents of all ages to participate in community life.

To learn more about the work being funded by the AARP Community Challenge both here in Illinois as well as across the nation, visit aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. You can also view the AARP Livable Communities Map – a free, interactive tool with information on AARP Community Challenge grantees and members in the Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.