Ecumenical Retirement Community Celebrates “Kindness in Community” during Annual Initiative

Country Meadows Retirement Communities, and sister not-for-profit Ecumenical Retirement Community, are embracing the definition of “community” for the annual Practice Random Acts of Kindness (PRAK) celebration in April. Honoring co-founder, the late Mary Jane Leader, the ten campuses affiliated with Country Meadows are observing Mrs. Leader’s birth month by engaging in purposeful acts of service that spread kindness into the world.

“People at their core are kind and it is a choice to seize opportunities to show kindness to others,” described Meredith Mills, President and CEO and Mary Jane Leader’s granddaughter. “I was brought up in a family who cared for our neighbor and looked for ways to better the lives of others. I can see that theme in my grandparents’ vision when establishing this company. This year, we honor my grandmother’s character of being kind and encourage everyone to use their gifts and talents to make their community a little bit better than it was before.”

Practice Random Acts of Kindness Month is a charge to the more than 2,500 co-workers and 2,100 residents that live and work at Country Meadows and Ecumenical to do little things that can brighten someone else’s day.

While PRAK has been an April tradition at Country Meadows and Ecumenical since 2012, this philosophy is backed by the newly released World Happiness Report that outlines positive trends affiliated with kindness by looking at acts of benevolence and people’s expectations of their communities.

“Even though the world feels like it’s a pretty difficult place right now, it is nice to know that people are engaging in kind and generous acts,” said Dr. Lara Aknin, professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and an editor of the World Happiness Report in a recent CNN article. “We’re a super social species, and we argue that acts of generosity help build and sustain those connections.”

Based on the data from the report, 70% of the world’s population did at least one kind thing in the last month leading to higher levels of happiness. When looking at how people perceive their community, the study evaluated empathy and the kindness of strangers.

“If you don’t have someone whom you can rely on in a time of need, if you’re losing trust in institutions and your community, it’s going to lead most likely to fewer benevolent acts, which, in turn, affects your happiness,” added Ilana Ron-Levey, a managing director of the public sector at Gallup in the report recap.

Acts of Kindness in Our Community

The theme, “Kindness in Community” speaks to the service projects that our residents do in their neighborhoods, but also the projects members of the community at-large do that benefit of our residents. One such project is the physical representation of the theme that is installed on each of our campuses—The Kindness Bound Library. These little library structures were built and painted by school and community groups from Milton Hershey School’s Carpentry and Construction Pathways career and technical education program, Northampton County 4-H Club and Girl Scout Troop #20397.

The Kindness Bound Libraries will house books that have been donated by residents, families, visitors, community members and the campus’ co-workers. These books have special meaning to the donors and were placed in the library to inspire the next reader. Volunteer resident librarians will manage the library and rotate books on display throughout the year.

Other ways Country Meadows and Ecumenical Retirement Community are putting kindness out in the community are through various service projects.

“Through volunteering and acts of kindness this month and throughout the year, our residents are engaging in purposeful service. It’s a reminder that no matter a resident’s age, there are opportunities to positively impact the world around them, find joy and have fun giving back,” said Carol Ditman, Senior Executive Director of Programming at Country Meadows Retirement Communities and Ecumenical Retirement Community. “It goes beyond, do good…feel good. Engaging with others makes a difference in the lives—physical health and mental well-being—of both the giver and the recipient.”

Join Us – Together, We are Kindness Bound

The theme of the libraries is not only a play on words for the donated books, but also a sentiment that we are all striving to live in a world that is kinder because of the acts that we are doing for others. We invite you to join us in celebrating Practice Random Act of Kindness Month. Consider visiting one of our campus locations and contributing to the Kindness Bound Library, act on a few of the 51 Ways to be Kind to a Senior ideas or read one of the children’s books on kindness our President and CEO Meredith Mills and her son Beckett reviewed and recommend.

About Country Meadows Retirement Communities and Ecumenical Retirement Community

The family of former Pennsylvania Governor George M. and Mary Jane Leader has been providing quality retirement services for older persons since 1962. Today, the nine Country Meadows Retirement Communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland and sister community, the not-for-profit Ecumenical Retirement Community in Harrisburg, Pa., continue the Leader tradition of friendly, person-to-person caring at reasonable costs through a compassionate, well-trained and highly motivated team of professionals.