Gwen Taylor

As the Director of Bellewood Presbyterian Homes for Children, Gwen Taylor helps young adults in our area make a safe and successful transition from the foster care system into independent living. As the creator of the 40/50 Group, she helps older adults make a safe and successful transition from the rigors of the rough-and-tumble workday into a nice, big glass of wine. We like Gwen Taylor.

Gwen Taylor, you are cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it. I love that top! It’s darling! Where did you get it?
Poshe Boutique.

Super cute! So Gwen Taylor, you do a really good thing, working with foster kids at Bellewood Presbyterian Homes for Children.
Thank you! Our job is to educate and empower struggling youth to lead healthy, independent lives through supportive services and a caring staff. We assist young people as they turn 18 and transition out of the foster care system and into independent living.

And your office is in LowerTown?
Yes, it’s in the Buddenbaum House at 618 Monroe St.

But the kids don’t live there.
No, we find apartments for them throughout Paducah, but they often come here to meet with us — and we go to them, as well, to make sure everything is OK in their apartments, that they have food and that they’re abiding by the rules of the program.

And by “we,” you mean that cute, cute, cute Craig Felker of Special D!
Craig (left) is awesome. He’s our case manager and is tremendously helpful to our clients. If they have a crisis — whether it’s emotional or just something that they need — he’s here to help.

Does he ever just start singing around the office?
No! Unfortunately, he will not! We do debate theology and politics, laugh, and we lean on each other through the various crises that arise!

How many clients do you work with now?
We have nine. Several are in high school, several are at WKCTC and one is in massage therapy school. And they do have to work. We pay lot of their bills, but the goal is to help them save money so that when they turn 21, they’re fully independent.

We also help them with their furniture and the other basic elements that you need to set up a household. We help them develop independent living skills like how to grocery shop, how to interview for jobs and proper etiquette. There’s so much that you and I take for granted, but for a lot of kids, no one ever took the time to show them how to do certain things.
 

Bellewood’s Gwen Taylor and Craig Felker counsel client Jamie on various program offerings.

Do you just love this job?
I love everything about the job. I love the kids and working with kids. I love being out in the community and promoting awareness for the program. I love the teaching part when we have group meetings. Sometimes it’s like being a mom to 10 teenagers all at the same.

Oy vey! I bet you and Craig could use some help!
We’re always in need of items to help the kids furnish their apartments. Right now I need a bed, dressers and nightstands and lamps — those are the items I need most.

We’re always looking for mentors who can connect with our clients. Take them to Maiden Alley for a movie or out for a burger. Just to let them know that someone cares.

And we need volunteers. If anyone has special gifts to share, we have a group meeting once a month. In fact, we have a woman who loves to cook. So she’s going to come in and talk with the group about cooking and nutrition.

One of Bellewood’s best success stories, Jamie works part-time at Medical Spa 7 while pursuing her massage therapy training.

There are lots of ways to get involved. Just call and tell me what you like to do, and believe me, I can find ways to use you! I’d love to have an expansive volunteer database to pull from.

How’d you get into this field?
After I graduated from St. Mary’s, I started working in the medical field in Paducah, in billing and coding. At that time, I used to go to Rosary Chapel. A position opened there and I applied, but I didn’t get it because I didn’t meet the educational requirements.

I was in my 30s and I decided to go to college. I went to Brescia University in Owensboro for my undergraduate degree and my master’s degree in ministry. And now I would not trade my education for anything.

And then what?
I started working with the Hispanic community in Owensboro, teaching English as a Second language.

You’re fluent in Spanish?
I do speak Spanish. I studied it in college, and also learned a lot when I worked with the Hispanic community. I also spent a summer in Mexico living with a family.

What brought you back to Paducah?
My mother had a stroke and I just came to a point in life where I decided to be close to my family and lifelong friends. So I came back in January 2007. I read about the Bellewood position in the paper.

And it’s a perfect fit!
It’s a perfect fit. It encompasses some of the leadership experiences I had in directing programs and in working with people who are on the fringe in some way — whether it’s a language barrier or economic barrier. I have experience in developing and implementing programs to help change or remove some of those barriers.

And you do another really good thing by fostering the 40/50 Group! You just decided to start the group and wow! What a success!
I borrowed from the Twenty Thirty Group, obviously. When I was in Owensboro and also in Louisville, I had a nice circle of friends that would get together socially. It wasn’t a singles group. It was simply a group of people — married and unmarried — and we’d go out for a drink. I didn’t see anything like that here, but I knew a lot people who said they wanted to form a group like that.

Then cute, cute, cute Brett Duwe….

Love him!
Totally love him! Cute, cute, cute Brett Duwe offered to open Cynthia’s for us the first Monday of the month. So I sent out an email to everyone I knew and advertised it on ilistpaducah.com and it all fell into place! We meet at 5:30 p.m. It was so successful from the start that we decided to meet the third Monday of the month as well, at Doe’s. And we typically all wind up at Max’s, too.

And now you have an email list of about 30-40 people! I love that everyone is so friendly.
It’s great! There’s a lot of interaction. You can come and not know anyone, and within a few minutes you’ll be talking with someone!

You even have a blog, now!
Yes, it’s 4050group.blogspot.com. We just launched it yesterday.

Excellent! So the group is open to everyone. It’s not a singles group?
It’s open to everyone in their 40s or 50s, as well as people who are younger or older — everyone is welcome. And it’s not a singles group!

With gal pals Becky and Robin.

But let’s say some handsome hunka hunka were to show up and spot you across the crowded room!
I am open to meeting someone. I have been single for 25 years and I’ve had relationships, but my primary focus in the past was on raising my daughter and my education. My daughter is 28 now and I have my education, so I’d definitely welcome the companionship!

Well, the 40/50 Group is just great. Just a great mix of people.
It’s really about expanding your circle of friends and maybe doing some business networking, or not worrying about business at all. It’s just fun.

What else do you like to do?
I love visiting with friends — that’s big for me. I love wine tasting or meeting for coffee. I love being outside — grilling, gardening. I love to travel. I also just like my down time.

And you’re a sports gal.
Football and basketball. I enjoy the excitement. Especially with football. I love the pageantry and tailgating. I love that it’s an all-day affair.

Well, Gwen Taylor, speaking of all-day affairs, I predict many to come! You are just the best! See you at Cynthia’s on Monday!

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