Culture change efforts at Christian Living Communities are getting a big boost in 2025, thanks to the generosity of caring supporters like you! Your gifts to the Workforce Innovation Fund made it possible last month for five CLC team members to complete the week-long training to become Certified Eden Alternative Educators.

Eden Educators have a big role to play when it comes to CLC’s culture of citizenship. Every year, they lead Eden Alternative training for team members, residents, and other CLC citizens, including our Board of Directors. Because of you, three CLC communities who previously did not have an Eden Educator on their teams (Someren Glen, Cappella of Pueblo West, and Dayspring Villa) now do. This means we can expand the locations and frequency of our Eden Training. What a blessing!

Here’s why learning about and implementing culture change is so important: it’s the reason why our communities feel so different! Culture change is the process of creating warm, person-directed, purposeful communities instead of cold, process-directed, institutional facilities. Ask residents and their families why they chose their CLC community, and you will hear, again and again, “From the moment I walked in, it just felt like home.”

CLC’s culture change practices are modeled on the teachings of The Eden Alternative and have had a tremendous impact on the well-being and happiness of residents and team members alike. The more members of our CLC community become certified with the Eden Alternative, the more our citizenship culture can take hold. Some of these trainings are also possible thanks to generous gifts from kind supporters, which help cover costs like training fees, supplies, and catering.

In 2024, CLC’s Eden Educators hosted three Eden Trainings, teaching 49 CLC citizens (including 8 residents) in the principles of person-directed care. Having our own Eden Educators allows us to offer more training sessions per year and enjoy a big discount on training fees. The new Eden Educators will be able help teach these sessions and expand culture change learning throughout the organization.

New Eden Educator, Clermont Park’s Chaplain Cheryl Meakins is excited about the possibilities of culture change, something she became passionate about ever since attending her own Eden Training. “I wanted to be an Eden Educator because I strongly believe in the principles of well-being for our whole community,” she explained. “As a chaplain, I believe Eden helps me encourage a practical spirituality among residents and team alike.”

Molly Nearpass, Director of Community Life at Someren Glen, attended the December educator training so that she could make a difference for the residents and team members she supports. “As a leader in my department and in my community, I wanted to gain the knowledge necessary to be more effective in my role and to help others feel empowered to eliminate loneliness, helplessness, and boredom in our community,” she said.

Eden Educator training is a demanding and engaging process of learning to teach The Eden Alternative approach to culture change to others. It is also very fun. As Cheryl noted, “One thing I know is that I laugh a lot in any Eden training. Playful humor aids in buffering the challenge of learning materials and giving presentations with short preparation.”

Ryan Ludke, the Executive Director at Dayspring Villa, shares his experience with the educator training: “It was a great way to meet other educators and learn from the people at The Eden Alternative. We tossed ideas around about how to make the communities better and more inviting places for residents to live.”

Molly also valued the camaraderie and collaboration: “I learned so much from the others who attended and learned more about myself. It was such a positive experience, and I looked forward to going each day.”

Kendra Crites, the Executive Director of Cappella of Pueblo West, and Jenny Graham, Regional Director of Operations, also completed the December donor-funded training and have joined CLC’s team of Eden Educators.

The new Eden Educators already have lots of plans for the communities they support and beyond. One of Ryan’s goals is to send more Dayspring Villa residents to an Eden Training. “I think that will make a huge difference. We have so many residents who want to contribute to the community and that will help us build off it even more.”

Cheryl is looking forward to supporting not only her community of Clermont Park, but other CLC communities, too. “I hope to take on a focused effort in the community to find meaning in our lives, and to support our smaller communities as they grow into the Eden Alternative,” she shared.

Molly is hoping to use her new training to inspire others through wise leadership: “I hope that we can all work together to be the change in our community, to be the culture change and the bright light that we need each day to help us through the difficult times.”

Thank you for making this transformative training possible! By supporting the growth of these new Eden Educators, you are also impacting the lives of all future Eden Alternative Certified Associates. These residents, team members and friends will safeguard our culture and help lead us to continual improvement and building our citizenship model of community living. Truly, an impact that will continue to ripple out for years to come!

About the Author

Stormie Foust Maley, Annual Giving Manager, is a born Midwesterner and Certified Eden Alternative Educator who believes passionately that individuals can make a difference in the lives of others. She worked for nine and a half years at Dayspring Villa Assisted Living, a neighborhood of Christian Living Communities, prior to her role as Annual Giving Manager. There she learned firsthand the joy of building a purposeful and resilient community through a person-directed care mindset.