On April 3 at the Alabama Oaks Assisted Living Facility, Albert Jones, a utility employee for Southeast Connections working down the street, came across Sarah Cahill speaking and singing to a resident of the facility from the other side of the property’s gate. The resident was Cahill’s mother, whom she had not been able to see up close in weeks due to social distancing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones joined in and began singing to Cahill’s mom from the sidewalk while she captured the moment on video.
Jennifer Mattingly Brown, an employee at the facility, posted the video to her Facebook page and Jones’ simple act of kindness quickly caught the attention of local news channels, national publications, and celebrities alike, soon achieving viral status.
The video was featured on multiple news outlets, including John Krasinski’s recently established positive news outlet, Some Good News. Celebrity Hugh Jackman even came across the story and shared the clip on his own social media accounts.
A new video emerged of Jones returning to the Winter Park assisted living facility on April 7 to sing “Happy Birthday” to one of the residents who turned 94 that day.
Jones’ acts of kindness reached hundreds of thousands of viewers and quickly became a message used to encourage goodwill during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. “It’s heartwarming and special and everything beautiful I can think of. I believe we can all take away something positive here,” Brown stated in her Facebook post.
