Summer Of Kindness Project 6: Kona Ice for Nursing Home Residents

On Tuesday, August 31, the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation and Beekman 1802 completed another Summer of Kindness project, the sixth in a series of ten projects that will complete by the end of summer. The Kindness Crew hosted the Kona Ice truck at The Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs, NY, offering free flavored ice treats to residents and staff.

While attending the first Summer of Kindness event, Tasty Treats for Educators at Hayner’s Ice Cream stand in Halfmoon, a local student Everett was inspired to submit a kindness entry form with an idea of his own. He would spread kindness to the nursing home and senior living residents where his 98-year-old great-grandmother resided by bringing them an ice cream truck.

“Everett was with me at the first kindness event where I received free ice cream for being a teacher”, stated his mom, Jenny, a teacher at Shenendehowa School District. “He saw how impactful that small act of kindness was for me and knowing the challenges I faced as a teacher over the past year with the pandemic, it sparked his own idea of wanting to extend that same kindness to another group of people who have also been having a hard time,” she continued, “the residents at the Wesley Community where his great-grandmother resides.”

Everett and his family joined the Kindness Crew at the Wesley Community’s Embury Apartments, where they served over 35 residents who sat outside to enjoy the flavorful treats at no cost to them.

Would your child like to spread kindness this summer? The Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation and Beekman 1802 are inviting children to “deposit kindness” by submitting their ideas on how they would spread kindness where they live. Kindness forms are available at any Sunmark Credit Union location, or online at www.sunmark.org/kindness. Children are invited to deposit their ideas into the Beekman 1802 goat banks located at any Sunmark branch, or via email at kindness@sunmark.org.