What Happens When Residents Run the Show
Most senior living communities are trying to answer the same question: how do we get residents more engaged? The typical response is to add more programs, more variety, and more effort into building a calendar that feels exciting and full. But even with all of that, there can still be a disconnect between what is offered and what truly resonates. After a recent conversation on the Smart Aging™ Podcast, it became clear that one community is approaching this challenge from a very different angle. Instead of focusing on creating more, they have shifted who is doing the creating. At Foulkeways at Gwynedd, residents are not just attending programs. They are leading them.
When Rita Porreca describes life at Foulkeways, she does not begin with activities or schedules. She begins with culture. With more than 450 residents and over 100 resident-led committees, programming is not something staff simply hand to residents. It is something residents help build themselves. Rita described the community as being “like a grown-up university,” and that idea shows up in every part of daily life. Rather than relying on a centralized calendar created entirely by staff, Foulkeways has created an environment where interests, talents, and passions naturally shape what is offered. Residents lead performing arts programming, organize fitness classes, run woodworking shops, teach art, host book talks, and even guide environmental initiatives. What stands out most is not just the variety, but the fact that the ideas are coming directly from the people who live there. As Rita explained, “If you come here and you have an interest, people start committees.” That simple idea changes everything. Programming stops being about guessing what residents might enjoy and becomes a direct reflection of who they are.
That resident-driven approach also helps programming stay fresh without forcing staff into constant reinvention. One of the biggest challenges in senior living is keeping activities from feeling repetitive as trends shift, new residents move in, and interests evolve. In many communities, staying ahead of that takes a great deal of planning and pressure. At Foulkeways, the programming evolves naturally because the people do. Rita shared that even long-standing traditions have changed over time. A performing arts program that once centered mostly on classical music now includes jazz and other styles because newer residents brought different tastes and ideas with them. She noted that “as new people come into the community, they bring new ideas, and the programming becomes more diverse.” That pattern can be seen across the community. A resident with a background in pottery helped establish a full studio. An artist began teaching watercolor classes. Another group formed around conversations about STEM and artificial intelligence. Innovation is not something staff have to artificially inject. It is already there in the lived experiences of the residents.
What makes this model especially meaningful is that it creates more than activity. It creates purpose. Instead of simply filling time, residents are continuing to use their skills, share their knowledge, and contribute to the community around them. Rita said, “It makes people feel like they’re involved and they’re contributing,” and that sense of contribution is what makes this model feel different. It shifts the resident experience from passive participation to active leadership. Many residents enter senior living with decades of professional expertise, creativity, and life experience. A model like this gives them a way to continue using those parts of themselves. Rita also shared, “It makes us feel like we’re still contributing and doing the things that we love.” That is where engagement becomes something deeper than attendance or participation numbers. It becomes connected to identity, purpose, and belonging.
Another important takeaway from this conversation is that resident involvement does not happen overnight, and it does not need to. Rita herself did not immediately take on a leadership role when she arrived. She spent time getting to know the community, building relationships, and understanding how things worked before becoming deeply involved. What encouraged participation was not pressure or structure alone. It was connection. As Rita put it, “The best thing is just to get to know the people.” That philosophy is part of what makes the culture work. Residents are introduced to opportunities through conversations, shared interests, and natural invitations. Annual club fairs and organized events may help residents see what is available, but the real momentum comes from peer relationships. Over time, that connection leads people to become curious, then involved, and eventually ready to lead something of their own.
Of course, this does not mean staff disappear from the process. It simply changes their role. Instead of being the sole creators of programming, staff become facilitators, connectors, and supporters. Their job becomes understanding residents on a deeper level and helping match people with opportunities that align with their backgrounds and interests. Rita emphasized how important this is when she said, “You need to get to know the people, what their interests are and what they did before they came.” When staff take that approach, they are better able to support resident-led ideas in meaningful ways. Some of the most impactful opportunities come through that collaboration, whether it is pairing independent residents with those in memory care for shared art experiences or helping organize initiatives that bring the broader community together. The focus shifts from running every detail of the calendar to unlocking the potential that already exists within the community.
There is also an important operational side to making this work. At Foulkeways, everything is supported through their internal platform, FoulkeWeb, which centralizes the calendar, communication, directories, and the day-to-day logistics that keep community life organized. That structure matters because it gives residents the tools they need to lead effectively while still making information easy to access. Rita shared that adoption has been strong because the platform is practical and intuitive. In fact, one of the most common reasons residents log in is something simple: “The first thing everybody does every morning is say, what’s for dinner tonight?” That kind of daily habit creates familiarity with the platform, and from there, residents naturally engage with other parts of community life as well.
What other communities can learn from Foulkeways is that this kind of culture does not require an overnight transformation. It starts with a shift in mindset. Instead of focusing only on what staff can build, communities can begin by looking at what residents already bring with them. Every resident arrives with interests, talents, stories, and experiences that can shape meaningful programming if they are given the chance. Rita offered a simple encouragement to other communities when she said, “I would encourage the administration of communities to consider it. It generates a vibe of everybody participating.” That kind of participation can begin with small steps: noticing who has strong interests, creating space for ideas to be shared, supporting resident-led initiatives on a smaller scale, and celebrating contributions so momentum can build. Over time, those small changes can shape a very different kind of culture.
What is happening at Foulkeways is a reminder that engagement is often strongest when it grows from within. When residents are given the opportunity to lead, share, and contribute, the community becomes more dynamic, more personal, and more alive. Rita captured that spirit in the simplest possible way: “Somebody comes up with an idea, and we do it.” That mindset moves a community beyond the goal of filling a calendar. It creates a place where residents continue to shape the life of the community itself.