A Neighborhood Hub for Memory-Friendly Connection on Chicago's South Side
A welcoming community where older adults gather, care partners find support, and everyone belongs.
EngAGE Beverly is a nonprofit neighborhood hub creating memory-friendly opportunities for older adults, especially those navigating memory changes, and the care partners who walk alongside them. We believe memory changes call for experiences that are enriched, not simplified, and we meet each person with warmth and dignity.
Here, each person is known, valued, and belongs.
Our mission
Gather. Connect. Belong.
Our mission is to honor and celebrate each person as they are today, in this moment. We foster a welcoming community for older adults, especially those navigating memory changes, through rich, relationship-centered experiences that create space for joy, purpose, curiosity, self-expression, and the freedom to be fully oneself. Equally central is supporting care partners with connection, practical resources, and dependable respite—giving them time to step away, recharge, and tend to their own well-being, knowing the person they love is engaged, valued, and experiencing a true sense of belonging.
Where to begin
Tell us who you are, and we will point you to the right place.
Everyone arrives here from a different direction. Pick the one that sounds most like you.
For a family member
I am looking for a place for someone I love.
You want somewhere your person is welcome as they are and where you have somewhere to turn, too. Start by exploring what our gatherings look like, then start a conversation with us so we can learn more about your loved one.
For yourself
I am noticing changes in my memory, and I want to be around others who understand and want to keep laughing and connecting and growing with me.
You are still you. Our cafés and day gatherings are built around conversation, ideas, and good company.
For a neighbor
I am from the community, and I want to help build this.
Volunteers, stewards, or those wanting to explore a paid role as we grow. A couple of hours a month count and so does knowing the right person to introduce us to.
For a professional
I work with older adults and their families.
Social workers, clergy, home care, hospital and clinic staff: if you are looking for somewhere to send a Beverly family, here is how EngAGE works and who is a good fit.
Our belief
A different idea about memory and aging
Our belief is simple: when memory changes, the answer is to slow down and deepen an experience, not to strip it away. Our approach is inspired by the spirit-centered philosophy of our friends at Elderwise™ in Seattle.
Enrichment over simplification
We design for curiosity, creativity, and real conversation. We keep the pace unhurried, so ideas, stories, and conversations can go deeper.
Relationship-centered
Consistent, caring people build genuine relationships with each person, creating trust, comfort, and belonging.
Small and intentional
A limited circle means each person is known and met as an individual, never as one of a crowd.
One hub, many ways to connect
Growing a memory-friendly community close to home
EngAGE Beverly brings together small, relationship-centered gatherings and practical resources for older adults and the people who care for them. Each part can stand on its own; together, they create a stronger circle of connection and support.
Old Friends Club
A nonprofit network of dementia-friendly day clubs built on friendship and belonging, where people with memory changes share stories and talents, and care partners find respite. EngAGE Beverly is bringing the Old Friends Club model to Chicago’s South Side, with their support.
EngAGE Cafés
Enrichment experiences built around literature, music, art, local voices, creative expression, and time together at the table.
Care partner resources
Practical resources, shared experiences, and meaningful connection for the people walking alongside someone navigating memory changes.
Community connection
A growing calendar of memory-friendly events, trusted resources, community partners, and opportunities across Chicago's South Side.
Where we are now
Growing a hub of memory-friendly connection, one step at a time
EngAGE Beverly is now welcoming Founding Members for October 2026. September is a month of conversations and small Welcome Gatherings as we form our first regular groups, and weekly gatherings begin in October. Whether you are exploring for yourself or for someone you love, we would be glad to talk.
Small, 90-minute Welcome Gatherings and personal conversations, as we form our first founding groups. A relaxed way to experience the rhythm of EngAGE and see whether it feels like a fit.
Regular weekly gatherings begin, including our History Café, Community Café, and our Literary Café, with at least two consistent gathering days each week.
More EngAGE Cafés, care partner education and support, and expanded community resources across the South Side, as the community grows.
Why we do what we do
This work is personal
EngAGE Beverly began with one family and one search for a place that felt like belonging. We believe every older adult should feel connected and at home in their community, whatever their journey looks like.
Read Pops's storyLooking ahead
Beverly is where we begin.
We are building EngAGE Beverly in one neighborhood, on purpose. Our hope is that it becomes the first of many.
Read our vision →Stay connected
Keep in touch as we grow
EngAGE Beverly is a neighborhood hub where older adults are known, care partners feel supported, and neighbors help create a more memory-friendly community. Whether you are looking for meaningful gatherings, trusted information, partnership, or a way to contribute, there is a place for you here.
We are now welcoming our first Founding Members for October 2026. Add your name below to receive updates about upcoming Cafés, community gatherings, resources, and our day community. Tell us what brings you to EngAGE Beverly, and we will share what is most meaningful to you. We will never overwhelm your inbox.