Simple as a Stamp

When we love someone, we go out of our way to protect and defend them. This rings true for our receptionist, Dawn Neddo, of Independence Village of White Lake — particularly in the case of a resident, Norma.

Norma and her husband, Armen, moved into Independence Village in 2014, and one word was used to describe them: inseparable. So when Armen passed away a little over a year later, Norma was lost without him. All of the employees joined together in an effort to make Norma feel their love and to curb her devastation, but what Norma really craved was a distraction. She asked if there were any helpful “jobs” she could be responsible for around the community, so the team named Norma the official librarian and activities assistant of the community. While fulfilling her new responsibilities, Norma became very close to Dawn Neddo, the receptionist, who would eventually show Norma her appreciation through a simple act of kindness.

One day, Norma filled out a form to order stamps from the post office. After several days of not having received her postage, Norma grew frustrated, and began coming to the front desk to ask Dawn about her stamps. Several weeks went by before the post office finally found Norma’s order form and returned it, stating the check was $2 short due to an increase in the cost of stamps. During those weeks of waiting for stamps, Dawn and Norma grew close, and Dawn decided to look into the matter further. She found that Norma had originally ordered the stamps before the price increase went into effect, so she called the post office and explained the situation in an attempt to get Norma her stamps. The post office agreed that Norma deserved the original price and sent out her stamps.

 

Dawn, like many of our employees, took the extra time out of her day to help a resident receive the absolute best experience. Norma so appreciated this simple act of kindness because it demonstrated the true family nature that we all work so hard to create in our communities. Thank you, Dawn!