'Someone cares:' Raleigh senior citizens help spread 3,000 acts of kindness

If so - take a moment and imagine: Somewhere in the city, a senior in an assisted living facility took the time to carefully decorate that stone, thoughtfully choose the perfect words to etch on the surface, and then lovingly hid that stone hoping someone like you would find it...and have a happier day.

An entire group of senior citizens spent their month working together to spread over 3,000 acts of kindness -- big and small – as their way of honoring Random Acts of Kindness Day.

This stretch of the story actually began when a WRAL journalist stumbled upon their very own kindness rock in the WRAL Azalea Gardens. 'Shine Bright,' read the rock.

The beauty of kindness rocks: They often appear to whoever needs them most that day.

She soon discovered these hand-painted stones were part of a larger goal of spreading kindness across the Triangle -- and across the United States.

"I hope it's worthwhile to someone else to find one of those rocks and know that somebody cared," says Kay Durden, a resident at Waltonwood. She's only been there 12 days, but she's already started spreading the joy.

Julian Baucom, a resident who helped hide the kindness rocks, has a dream for whoever finds his rocks.

"I hope they think, 'Hey, that's pretty neat. Let me change my thinking for the day. Since there's so many good things going on, I'll concentrate on those instead of all the negative things I could think about."

Residents at Waltonwood give each other little gold coins to honor good deeds they see happening around them. Each resident can turn in their coins for a candy and a loud 'ring!' on a bell, after which nearby crowds applaud their act of kindness.

The collection of gold coins is overflowing – a marker of just how many acts of kindness have been exchanged in the past month.

Baucom, however, says he keeps his gold coins.

"I like to look at them and remember the moment of kindness," he says.

Ryerson's eyes filled with tears, hearing just how much those gold coins and acts of kindness mean to Baucom – and likely many of the residents.

Painting the rocks does more than just spread a little joy – it also provides a meaningful and fun activity for the residents at Waltonwood.

When she was first presented with the idea, Jean Kastner, life enrichment manager for memory care, said, "How can we make this memorable for our residents?"

At first, the residents helped paint rocks and place stickers on the back. Later, she got permission for them to hide rocks around local parks and trails.

"I explained to my residents what the rocks were about," she says. "That they painted them, and now we want to put them out in the community where people can come along and be cheered up by these rocks."

Photos of the outings prove the success: Huge smiles on the residents' faces. Photos of them hiding rocks, or even handing special rocks to individuals walking by and sharing a few words.

"People are having rough days, these days. We wanted them to smile. We wanted them to have hope," says Kesner. "When I see them smile, when I see them go out and do things to make other people happy -- that's why I do what I do, because I want to make a difference for people. The ripples keep going. It touches everyone."

When our WRAL multiplatform producer Heather Leah went to cover the story of these kindness-spreading seniors, she didn't expect to become part of the story herself.

The group started the interview by surprising her with a touching act of kindness. They hand-painted 92 kindness rocks and lined a beautiful trail – all in memory of her 92-year-old grandmother.

Waltonwood on Lake Boone Trail is inviting the public to come enjoy a 'Taste of Waltonwood' on Thursday, March 7 from 1 -3 p.m. Plus, you can meet some of the people behind the incredible 3,000+ acts of kindness.

They will have interactive cooking demonstrations, infused water stations, desserts and more. RSVP by calling 984-232-0528.