"As I approached the time to retire, my friends all told me to take a few years off before I decided what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Well, my head and my heart were set on becoming a volunteer…”

And, for the past eight years, retiree Virginia "Ms. Ginny" Silver has done just that, dedicating her time to enriching the lives of seniors through volunteer work. After retiring, Silver initially started her new role volunteering to call bingo and leading craft activities at a senior living community.

Recognizing that many standard craft projects felt too juvenile for the residents, Silver set out to elevate the activities, believing "there is nothing that is messed up that we can't fix with a little glitter." Through adaptive techniques and a focus on empowering even physically challenged residents, Silver transformed craft time into an experience of dignity and pride.

Now, she volunteers at the Sunrise of Cinco Ranch community, located at 21939 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy, where they continue this mission of bringing joy and creativity to seniors. Residents create meaningful keepsakes to share with loved ones, rather than leaving projects abandoned. “This heartwarming approach aligns perfectly with Sunrise Senior Living's mission of ‘championing quality of life for all seniors,’” said Heather Hunter, senior manager of external communications at the facility.

Silver's commitment extends beyond Sunrise, as she also volunteers with a dementia respite program at her local church, drawing on personal experience caring for a parent with Alzheimer's. This "full circle" story of giving back could inspire other retirees seeking purpose in their golden years, said Hunter.

“On World Kindness Day, we want to uplift Ms. Ginny and her mission to spread joy through the power of creativity and community, in spite of all the negative news happening in the world,” said Hunter.

World Kindness Day, which began in 1998, will be celebrated on November 13. The movement was initiated by a group of kindness organizations in order to create a global focus on creating kindness, according to worldkindness.org. The movement encourages individuals to initiate random acts of kindness that have a ripple effect, spreading from one person to another and resulting in a wave of goodwill across communities. The website suggests starting with small activities like paying for a stranger’s coffee or distributing “kindness cards” with positive messages. Organizing community events or workshops focused on kindness can have a lasting effect, according to the website.