Senior living communities take part in kindness campaign

At Benchmark Senior Living in Woburn, moods are high.

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WCVB Boston

At Benchmark Senior Living in Woburn, moods are high. Residents are reveling in the news that out of dozens of Benchmark senior communities, theirs topped the rest when it came to doing good deeds. This summer marked year two of Benchmark's Radiant Acts of Kindness Campaign.

Leigh Anne Cappello heads up the marketing department at Benchmark. She came up with the concept.

"It's essentially come up with ideas that you think are going to bring a little joy to somebody's life," Cappello said.

Suzy Hicks organized the effort in Woburn.

"It was very exciting to see people to go out of the box and reach out to others beyond right here in the community," Hicks said.

In just one month, workers and residents at the Woburn location completed more than 200 acts of kindness. Just a few examples -- they delivered meals and flowers, and they made goodies for people in local nursing homes.

"It's something that brings you to a deeper level in human connection,” Hicks said.

Mandy Emond and Chantal Lucas share a special connection now. They work together at the Benchmark community in Norwood.

Emond's radiant act was helping Chantal get a free car after hers was wrecked in an accident. The single mother of two, who moved here from Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, was struggling.

"I don't have any words to say thank you to Mandy, because God put her on my way," Lucas said.

"She goes above and beyond for her residents (and) for her coworkers,” Emond said. “She was paying Uber $36 a day (and) never missed a day the whole time."

Benchmark has 57 communities. Together, the workers and residents committed 1,530 acts of kindness. Benchmark estimates they impacted over 6,000 lives.