Princeton Assisted Living, managed by Spring Hills Senior Communities, will use its annual Enrichment through Literature program to offer residents the opportunity to read “Human Kind, Changing the World One Small Act at a Time,” a collection of essays about true and transformative accounts of kindness by Brad Aronson.
Each month throughout the year, the residents will be encouraged to create their own acts of human kindness. They will work with school groups, community groups and more to provide community outreach, opportunities for service, and positive engagement to combat the risk of isolation during the pandemic, according to information provided by Spring Hills.
“Human Kind, Changing the World One Small Act at a Time” starts with the author’s own story of how his community turned out to support his family when his wife Mia underwent cancer treatment and traveled the long road to recovery.
Each month, starting in March, residents will explore a chapter of the book and engage in acts of kindness that relate to the month’s given topic. Of particular interest are the chapters that involve service to animals, as Spring Hills is known for its Signature Touch program “PAWS” (Pets are Welcome) and other programs like Care Cubes and Signature Dining, according to the statement.
Plans are also underway to involve local schools, intergenerational groups, non-profits and charities.
Throughout the year, Aronson will participate in Zoom meetings and virtual panel discussions, and the Spring Hills communities throughout the country will share their top three acts of kindness each month, according to the statement.
“Our top priority is always the health and well-being of our residents and associates. Being of service to others is a basic human need. By empowering our residents to help others and remain active through programs like this, they are engaged as well as mentally, emotionally and physically healthy,” Alexander Markowits, president/CEO of Spring Hills, said in the statement.
Marianna Adamitis, executive director at Princeton, said, “Our residents have so much to give. Providing them with the opportunity to participate with the community is aligned with our mission to ensure that our residents live to their fullest potential every day.”
To kick off the program, the residents participated in a Heart-to-Heart art project. They made handmade hearts out of pipe cleaners and linked them together to form a chain. They were then strung together and displayed throughout the community’s common areas, symbolizing the “chain reaction” of kindness that the group hopes to ignite, according to the statement.
This assisted living community is located at 1000 Windrow Dr., Princeton.
For more information, call 609-514-9111 or visit www.springhills.com/communities/spring-hills-princeton/.