2025 Challenge Grants

AARP Community Challenge Grant Projects Announced!

Congratulations to the hard-working people in these communities – the people who made these grants happen!

AARP has invested $75,000 in Maine communities through the 2025 Community Challenge Grant! Ten communities and organizations in Maine will tackle quick-action projects that address critical areas such as public spaces, transportation, housing, accessibility, and social isolation. While these projects prioritize the needs of older people, they benefit community members of all ages. 

Read on for the complete list of AARP Challenge Grant winners.

• Age-Friendly Communities of the Lower Kennebec, Bath Region - This project will conduct six listening sessions to understand disaster preparedness needs in the region. Older adults from six communities will share disaster stories, evaluate a sample preparedness kit, and receive training. This will help create and distribute kits tailored to community needs. 

• AIA Maine - AIA Maine will host a design competition to explore innovative housing solutions for underserved communities. The event will include educational sessions on accessibility, aging in place, and lessons learned from the competition. 

• Cumberland Aging in Place - The project will provide two fat tire tricycles for older adults to use on Town Forest trails. These tricycles will offer a safe and inclusive way to enjoy outdoor activities, with staff support and mandatory safety talks. 

• Danforth Livable Communities - This project will enhance home assessments with safety modifications for residents age 65-plus living alone or with low income. Four educational meetings will be held in a tri-county rural region to show older adults and their families how to make homes safer, focusing on fall and injury prevention. 

• Age-Friendly Dover-Foxcroft - This project will conduct five walk audits in downtown Dover-Foxcroft to identify locations for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements. Older volunteers from the community center will participate. Two community meetings will be held to discuss the audit results with residents and business owners. 

• Downeast Family YMCA - The Tech Cafe will offer digital skills training and internet safety workshops for people age 50-plus. Participants will receive hands-on instruction, access to devices, and personalized support to build confidence in using technology. 

• Loon Echo Land Trust - Loon Echo Land Trust will upgrade the Mayberry Hill Preserve trail to make it accessible for older adults, young people, and families. The new 0.6-mile loop trail will feature ADA-compliant benches and a crushed gravel surface, enhancing outdoor recreation and community health. 

• Age-Friendly Sullivan - Age-Friendly Sullivan will upgrade the Community Gazebo in Sumner Park with new electrical outlets, structural repairs, and a new roof. The project aims to enhance the gazebo for public events and celebrations, focusing on the needs of residents age 50-plus. 

• Wilhelm Reich Museum - The Wilhelm Reich Museum will replace 200 feet of old bog bridging with new double-width cedar planks, add a resting bench at Quimby Brook, and install a picnic table in a trail meadow. These upgrades aim to make the trails safer and more accessible for older adults.

• Age-Friendly Yarmouth. Yarmouth will test speed tables and crosswalk enhancements on five main corridors to slow drivers from high-speed rural roads. The project aims to improve safety for walkers and bikers by creating gateways into the village with better visibility and traffic calming measures.