Here in the Huntsville-Madison area, one group has made their mark on the town– #RocketCityRocks. It’s a simple idea with a big impact.

A kindness rock is simply a painted rock with some sort of inspirational quote, cute picture, or fun design on it. Its purpose is to make someone smile. Through the idea of kindness rocks, individuals can give back to the community without doing much at all. At a low cost, this is an easy and fun task for people of all ages.

Many people in the community enjoy creating and finding kindness rocks. Maggie Brown, a student at Bob Jones said,  “I found one near my apartment. It’s a really sweet way to give back to the community and brighten someone’s day without doing anything huge.” Many others think the idea is a good one, such as Taylor Theakston. “I think it is a fun way to get people outside and lift spirits.” The movement is still growing. Hayden Madison said, “I think kindness should be spread. I have no idea what kindness rocks do, but I am definitely interested in participating.”

There are many ways to participate in this ongoing event. The best way is to just do it! You just need to get a rock, paint it, and hide it somewhere in the community. Think of it as a year-long Easter egg hunt.

There are several places offering rock painting classes for people of all ages. Spirited Art and University Pickers schedule rock-painting classes.

For Bob Jones students, Mrs. Panagos hosts a Patriot Path for students who would like to paint rocks. “The kindness rocks movement is a small but lovely distraction from the stresses of life and work,” she said. “Join the Facebook page so that you can see where people are hiding rocks. The Facebook page is also a good place to find design inspiration. When you find a rock, you should post a pic of it to the page, so that the original artist knows that someone found their rock.”

The supplies needed to paint a rock is small, so paint a rock, hide it, and watch your work make others happy. With a few small paint strokes, you can brighten someone’s day.