Kindness Rock Project
(from WikiPedia)
The Kindness Rocks Project was started by Megan Murphy in 2015 on Cape Cod. She wrote “You’ve got this” on a rock and left it on a beach on Cape Cod. After a friend found it, she started leaving more rocks with inspirational messages behind. “But someone found one of her rocks, and word got back to her. “The rock made my day,” the recipient said. “I was struggling, but the message helped turn things around.” And thus began the Kindness Rocks movement.”
As the trend of painting kindness rocks has spread, it has many derivatives but remains true to its original intention of spreading kindness. Rocks are painted as a social-emotional learning activity for kids, as well as to support particular charities, events or movements. Sometimes the name of a hashtag or the Facebook group the painter belongs to is written on it as well. Generally, rocks which are hidden are intended to be picked up, photographed and put on Facebook, and then re-hidden in a different spot. However, different rock groups may have different ideas; some might be asked to be taken as far as possible, and others hidden in the same city or general region. The Kindness Rocks Project encourages people to set up community Inspiration gardens.
The painting rock trend was revived during the COVID-19 pandemic.