About Us

Aging Well is a partnership in 20 communities in the greater Lyons Township Illinois area. The partnership is composed of hundreds of older adults and over 130 community based organizations working together to create an environment in which people can age well.

History and Background

Formed in late 2001, Aging Well is a partnership of individuals and community organizations in the greater Lyons Township area.  From the project’s inception, volunteer-driven Community Action Teams have been working locally to create elder friendly communities.

In 2004, Aging Well received a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, through its national program Community Partnerships for Older Adults.  The grant enabled us to engage in an 18 month planning process to develop a community-based, grassroots strategic plan to expand and enhance long term care and supportive services to older adults.  These services include any assistance that provides older adults and their families with support to meet their changing needs as they age. 

Creating a Strategic Plan

In order to create a community-based strategic plan, we:

• Gathered information from existing sources and from the community
• Compiled the information and shared it with the community
• Worked with the community to prioritize the issues
• Developed strategies based on the priorities
• Created the Strategic Plan

The partnership used two surveys to collect information directly from the community.  Over 400 people participated in the surveys.  Nine focus groups were also conducted with older adults, long-term care facilities, supportive services, informal caregivers, paid caregivers and baby boomers.

In order to prioritize the issues identified by the community through the surveys and focus groups, we conducted five highly publicized community forums throughout the greater Lyons Township area.  More than 170 people participated in the forums. top of page  

Putting the Plan into Action

In the summer of 2005, the Aging Well partnership formed five work groups to address the issues prioritized at the community forums.  The workgroups drafted goals, objectives and initial strategies based on the information from the community.  These became the components of the strategic plan.  

In 2006, we were awarded additional funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support the implementation of the community plan over the next four years.  We are one of only 16 national partnerships, out of almost 1,000 applicants, to receive this funding.  We receive local community support from Community Memorial Foundation and the Township of Lyons. top of page

History and Background

Creating a Strategic Plan

Putting the
Plan into Action