Mary Jane Leader
Throughout her life, Mary Jane Leader was a daily example of kindness to others and she inspired all who knew her to do the same for family and community members. She, along with Gov. George Leader, founded Country Meadows Retirement Communities and Ecumenical Retirement Community upon treating people with kindness.
In her honor, the Leader family encourages residents, co-workers, friends and neighbors to practice random acts of kindness every April—Mrs. Leader’s birth month.
“We feel it only appropriate that Mother’s memory live on by encouraging others to remember the little things that can truly brighten someone’s day,” says Leader’s son, Country Meadows and Ecumenical Retirement Communities President & CEO Michael Leader.
Random acts of kindness can be as simple as smiling at a stranger, helping someone with their groceries or just paying a visit. Examples of kindness shared over by residents and co-workers over the years include:
• Residents passed out candy, flowers and notes of kindness to shoppers at grocery stores.
• A co-worker paid for a family’s lunch in The Bistro at Country Meadows. The family was visiting their loved one on hospice for the last time.
• A Country Meadows marketing team paid for customers’ coffee for three hours at a local coffee shop.
• A co-worker paid for the driver’s coffee in the car behind her at a McDonald’s and then witnessed a contagion
of kindness as that driver paid for the car behind her, and the next two cars in line did the same.
• Residents and co-workers teamed up with a local school to make homemade soaps which were then donated to
homeless shelters.
• Residents and co-workers remembered our furry friends by making homemade dog biscuits later delivered to
animal shelters.
Everyone is encouraged to join in the kindness and spread the word. Every April, visitors can pick up free window clings and bumper stickers displaying the simple yet powerful message, “Practice Random Acts of Kindness.” Kindness cards also are available to give to those in need of a pick-me-up.
Leader concludes, “Every day we try to make life better at Country Meadows and Ecumenical Retirement Community, and whether the grantor or recipient of a kind act, the generosity of the human spirit provides great rewards. We encourage everyone to pay it forward with a random act of kindness.”
I would love to pick up a window cling from your facility on Green Pond Road but don’t know what door to use.
Ms. Snyder, we are glad you are interested in one of our clings. They are very popular and inspiring. We have copied you on a separate email to our Bethlehem team with specifics on where to pick one up. Please be on the look out in your email for those details. Thank you again and enjoy practicing kindness. We sure do.
During my forty five year career as a real estate broker,
with travels world wide speaking at confrerences on senior housing, I have met some thousand people or more. A very few stand out in my mind or encouraged me to follow in his or her footsteps.
Mrs. Leader is on the top of my list as a great mother, wife, inspiring human being. I was Blessed to have had her in my life. One person CAN make a big difference in life.
Ms. Nicusanti, many many thanks for sharing your wonderful compliments of Mrs. Leader. She truly made a difference with our residents and co-workers. We all were blessed to have her in our lives. We will be sure to share these compliments with the Leader family. Thank you again.
Your mother was indeed a wonderful woman. She was always so gracious and very inspiring! I feel it is more important than ever to practice random acts of kindness. Every individual has this capability, even if it’s only a kind word. Keep up the positivity. It’s contagious and will inspire others, as your mother intended. My mother also taught me this, so in honor of both our mothers, I definitely want to display these stickers in the hope they will inspire others!
Ms. Leidy, we couldn’t agree any more about the virtues of kindness and Mrs. Leader’s inspiring examples of that. Thank you for taking the time to share your kind comments. We will be sure to share with the Leader family.
I never met Mrs.Leader or the former governor. But, I met and played with their daughter, Jane when she lived in Camp Hill. We would meet at the park near our homes and we tried to meet almost every day during the. 5 day week! For some reason, (unbeknownst to me, when I asked to invite her to my home, my mother said Jane could not visit! Maybe she wasn’t a fan of Gov. Leader! But, I have thought fondly of that summer, many times over the years and wondered whatever happened to Jane! It was nice reading about what she is doing for the Leader Retirement homes!
Ms. Teixeira,
Thank you for sharing your positive memory of the Leader family. They are a wonderful family. Jane is still very involved in the family business. We will be sure to share your post with her. Thanks again!