Written by Madison Zepp
Empowering Community Through Connection
“I am really grateful for my time at Garden Spot because it’s a way to serve God’s people in lots of different ways. It’s helped me appreciate the sanctity of life at all stages,” reflects Allison Cuthie, Director of ForgeWorks, Garden Spot Communities’ consulting agency.
Although Allison currently works for ForgeWorks, consulting was not always in her life plan. After high school, Allison attended West Chester University, where she majored in Secondary English Education. After graduation, she became a high school English and Journalism teacher. She was also the school newspaper advisor.
As she began her family, Allison left her role as a teacher, choosing to stay at home with her four children. She became very involved in community volunteer work in New Holland.
“I like to feel like I’m using my gifts and talents in purposeful ways,” Allison comments. Her community work connected her with local organizations. When she was ready to return to the workforce, her networking led her to Garden Spot Village and a position in the development department. Allison had doubts she was qualified for the position due to her lack of formal education in fundraising, but she quickly discovered that it was not education that would make her successful in the position. Instead, a positive attitude and an ability to connect to individuals would take her extremely far. She has always loved and respected older adults, which made her a good fit.
In 2021, Allison prepared for a transition. Her family was getting ready to join her husband during his one-year deployment with the Army National Guard to Germany. Although she was ready to resign from her position, she was given an opportunity to remotely support ForgeWorks.
At the beginning of her time at ForgeWorks, Allison sensed that consulting was not where her heart was but felt very strongly that God told her to stay and be patient to see what she could learn. At the beginning of 2024, the previous director moved on, and Allison felt led to see what she could do in the role. Although it was not something she would have anticipated doing, she really enjoyed the process of learning and growing into the role of director.
Allison’s favorite moments and memories at Garden Spot have taken place while working with volunteer residents. She loves the variety of volunteer opportunities available for residents at Garden Spot and believes volunteering gives them opportunities to be purposeful in retirement.
“The lessons I get out of just working with volunteer residents are huge … I always walk away with a different outlook or a different piece of wisdom that I gained from hearing residents interact or having them speak into my life directly,” Allison explains.
PATHWAY TO FLUENCY
“I believe we have the opportunity to look at our mission and say, ‘How can we take care of all of God’s people?’ Whether I am working with residents, team members, English speaking, non-English speaking, I want to further our growth as a community and care well for each other,” Allison says.
As director of ForgeWorks, Allison has the freedom to explore innovative ways to solve workforce challenges. She is piloting ways Garden Spot Communities can assist and support staff members relocating from other countries. For example, Allison started Pathway to Fluency, an English as a Second Language (ESL) program that pairs team members with resident mentors. Eight to ten pairs of residents and team members are working to improve language skills and most importantly, confidence for team members as they practice their English.