Celebrating Activity Professionals Week 2023 | Jim Faust

Happy Activity Professionals Week! 

Throughout this week, we’re spotlighting some of the exceptional Activity Professionals that we have the honor of working with and share some stories from the field that make these people so special. Stay tuned so you can get to know some of the individuals making an incredible impact on older adults living across North America! 

Today we recognize Jim Faust, Director of Entertainment and Programming at The Oaks of Algonquin, a Spectrum Retirement Community. 

Jim first started his career in life enrichment when, by request of his mom, he begrudgingly agreed to volunteer for a senior carnival event at a local senior living community. Instantly though, he loved working with this population of people.

Jim recounts, “It was a profound experience for me because it was something fun and creative that I could do, while also being incredibly rewarding and impactful.  The best part about it was that these residents relearned how to play.” It was this moment when “I decided then and there that I wanted to work in the senior living industry for the rest of my life.”

Spectrum Retirement Communities is at the forefront of integrating technology into the aging experience and Jim fully embodies this mission with how he structures the lifestyle offerings. Jim exclaims, “I love utilizing cutting-edge technology in my activity programs. When I learned that Rendever was going to be used at The Oaks at Algonquin, I was super excited to test the capabilities of Rendever and synergize it with my activity programs.”

For example, Jim was inspired by “The Amazing Race” so he designed a month-long program called “World Explorers of Algonquin” where residents formed teams and each session was an educational and culturally relevant activity associated with that location. For example, when the world explorers went to Germany, afterward they feasted on a homemade pretzel, German beer cheese, and a blind German beer tasting.

Jim, thank you for all the passion and creativity you bring to this field!