Kindness Korner: Interview with Paula Faciano of Bake Ability
By Edie Weinstein
The Cardinal Contributing Writer
One Saturday afternoon, on the way home from New Hope, I decided to make a stop for treats at Bake Ability, which I had heard about for years but had never made the time to visit. Was I ever glad I did!
As I was perusing the decadent delights, two jumped out at me, and I knew I had to bring them home with me. I highly recommend the cranberry scone and the Magic Ability Bar, but I’m sure that everything is scrumptious since the not-so-secret ingredient is love. While I was there, I had the opportunity to meet Paula Fasciano, the woman behind the whisk with a delicious vision.
Edie Weinstein: What does kindness mean to you?
Paula Fasciano: Kindness means acceptance. It means understanding that we are all different from each other, yet we have respect for who someone is, no matter what. It’s a free gift we can all give one another.
EW: How do you live it daily?
PF: Raising two men, ages 28 and 22, with Fragile X Syndrome has helped me learn that their strengths are to be celebrated and recognized, while their weaknesses are to be worked on with compassion. They are the epitome of kindness to everyone they meet.
EW: Please tell us the origin story of Bake Ability.
PF: Bake Ability came to be because there is an 85% unemployment rate among the over-21 intellectually disabled community. Over Zoom during COVID, a group of friends talked over ideas to help our young adults find meaningful employment. We toyed with a sort of “staffing firm” concept, hoping to engage the local small business owners in Doylestown. We thought to buy a van to transport these young adults who do not drive to their jobs when needed. Then, a bakery became available for sale during the pandemic, and a light bulb went off in my head. I knew it had been done before, and I knew we could do it too. My friends initially thought I was crazy, and some of them still do, but we are almost five years into this, and I think it’s going well.
EW: How has the community responded?
PF: Overall, it’s a feel-good story, right? No one is going to come out and say something bad about our staff, but we are fighting an uphill daily battle for people to understand what our staff is fully capable of. You’d only know how great they are if you have been in our store and tried our delicious scratch-baked goods.
EW: Who decides the menu?
PF: Originally, we all did. Now, we get feedback from customers and try to stay on top of introducing a new menu item here and there. We are working on healthy indulgences right now, using dates to craft small baked goods in lieu of sugar. We have recently opened up a gluten-free kitchen too, after many requests for gluten-free baked goods from customers.
EW: Do you have favorite treats here?
PF: Honestly, everything is delicious, but if I had to pick one, I’d say that the chocolate chip cookie is my favorite.
EW: Why is it important for people living with intellectual or physical challenges to feel purposeful?
This is important because they are the backbone of a community. They are dedicated, loyal, hard-working individuals. All they want is to feel that they are part of the community that they live and work in.
EW: If Bake Ability could meet your wildest dreams, what would it do?
PF: I would love to see Bake Ability locations all over the world. I wish other parents would take the chance and start a small business for their young adult with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
My current “vision” is partnering with The Next Step Programs’ vision 2030 campaign, where we hope to be a part of the inclusive marketplace proposed by the plan, along with an integrative community of adults with and without developmental disabilities living above the marketplace. Bake Ability is located at 4950 York Road, Holicong, (215) 315-5560
Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a licensed social worker, psychotherapist, interfaith minister, journalist, speaker, PR, and marketing professional. She is also the grandmother of two wonderful children, whom she is teaching to be kind.
Read original article here.
