April is a great month to practice kindness

April marks a tradition at Ecumenical Retirement Community: Practice Random Acts of Kindness.

While we practice kindness every day at Ecumenical Retirement Community, our co-workers and residents make special efforts to practice kind acts every April to honor our organization’s co-founder, Mary Jane Leader. Mrs. Leader was a daily example of kindness to others. She and her husband, the late Gov. George M. Leader, founded the organization upon treating people with kindness. And she inspired her family members and co-workers to do the same for others. Her birthday was in April, and we salute her memory by reminding everyone to brighten someone’s day through a random act of kindness. You may find it will brighten yours too.

May Jane Leader

Random acts of kindness can be as simple as smiling at a stranger, helping someone with their groceries or just paying a visit. Acts of kindness aren’t about money, or even planning. It’s about finding a moment to make a small difference in another person’s life. Some ideas from our  residents and co-workers include:

• Returning a shopping cart to the store for a busy shopper.
• Picking up the tab for the car behind you in a drive-thru line.
• Giving busy clerks a smile.
• Sharing your umbrella on a rainy day.

Residents’ past acts of kindness inspired Ecumenical to create “Caught in the Act!” stickers for co-workers, residents and visitors to award each other when a kind act is observed. Additionally, co-workers and residents can share them outside our campus to acknowledge kindness and encourage others to pass it on.

Residents love to volunteer. One of their favorite purposeful service activities is gathering to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a local soup kitchen.

Michael Leader, chairman & CEO, and founders’ son, says, “Every single day I am inspired by my co-workers when I see acts of kindness—big or small. Many times these kind gestures are done without thought, which speaks to the truly caring nature of our team. It reminds me of my parents’ compassion and what they instilled in my family and in turn, the Ecumenical culture.”’

Mrs. Leader’s big heart remains an inspiration to us all. Feel free to pass it on this month and every day thereafter.

If you would like to share an act you observed or one in which you practiced, please share it with us at Kindness@EcumenicalRetirement.org. These inspiring stories are worth sharing!