Yorkville Chapel boosts accessibility with $18,500 grant for stair glide units

Yorkville’s historic Chapel on the Green has improved the facility’s accessibility thanks to an $18,500 grant from the Aurora-based Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley.

The chapel has installed handicapped-accessible stair glide units. The units enable persons with mobility needs to more easily access the main level lobby, meeting rooms, restrooms, a basement community room, office space and the second floor.

Best known as a wedding venue, the chapel also hosts baptisms, marriage vow renewals, memorial services and funerals.

Additionally, the chapel serves as a center for cultural and educational community programming, including annual holiday activities.

The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016 and to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2023.

The all-volunteer Chapel on the Green Historical Society, a nonprofit, was formed in 2011 to protect, preserve and maintain the unique community landmark.

Society board of directors chair Susie Kritzberg said the board is dedicated to the building’s ongoing preservation and improvement through projects including the stair glides.

Kritzberg thanked the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley for its generosity and dedication to funding programs and initiatives that benefit local communities, according to a news release from the chapel.

“Additional thanks go to grant committee chairman Ron Kelso for his assistance and commitment to gaining this funding opportunity for the chapel,” Kritzberg said.

The Community Foundation administers individual funds and resources given by local citizens to enhance and support the quality of life in Kane and Kendall counties.

Foundation funds support grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships to area recipients.

Additionally, the foundation promotes a program for high school students to help them learn more about philanthropy, empowering them to make a difference in their own communities.

The chapel is located at 107 W. Center St. in Yorkville.

For more information, call 331-207-8142 or visit yorkvillechapelonthegreen.org.