The Kindness Rocks Project is a viral trend where people, commonly children, paint pebbles or

cobble Cobble may refer to: * Cobble (geology), a designation of particle size for sediment or clastic rock * Cobblestone, partially rounded rocks used for road paving * Hammerstone, a prehistoric stone tool * Tyringham Cobble, a nature reserve in Tyr ...

s and leave them for others to find and collect. Photos of the painted rocks and hints of where to find them are commonly shared on

Facebook groups Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of ...

. The trend originated in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and has spread to the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, Australia, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

as well as other countries.

Origin

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 Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. After a friend found it, she started leaving more rocks with inspirational messages behind.

Alice Brock Alice May Brock (born February 28, 1941) is an American artist, occasional author and former restaurateur. A resident of Massachusetts for her entire adult life, Brock owned and operated three restaurants in the Berkshires—The Back Room, Take-Ou ...

, a Cape Cod resident who had been painting rock art since the 1960s, claimed credit for helping spread the phenomenon worldwide by sending painted rocks to her friends and family in New York City and Europe.Merrick, Viki (May 8, 2017)
American icon Alice Brock might surprise you
''WCAI''. Retrieved September 8, 2017. The Kindness Rocks Project

Derivatives

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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

#Islastones

#Islastones was a rock-painting movement in support of Isla Tansey, a girl diagnosed with

DIPG Diffuse midline glioma (DMG), previously called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a fatal tumour that arises in the brainstem; most commonly in the pons or thalamus. DMG is believed to be caused by genetic mutations that cause epigenetic ...

, a terminal cancer. Isla asked people to paint stones with the hashtag #islastones, take photos of them, and hide them. Isla died on July 10, 2018 at the age of 7, less than a year after her diagnosis.

International Drop a Rock Day

International Drop a Rock Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on July 3, in which people are encouraged to leave a painted rock in a public space.

Reception

Some parks have objected to people leaving painted rocks on their grounds, including the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

. Painted rocks were banned from several parks in the

Marlborough region Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region (, or ''Tauihu''), commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a distric ...

of New Zealand.

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

has banned painted rocks from entering the park and will confiscate them.

References