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Date: 8/10/2017
EAST LONGMEADOW – While rocks may normally be grey or brown in color, these days they’re popping up all over the country in brighter hues.
Groups of children and adults alike are forming all over the nation in an effort to spread kindness and brighten others days. East Longmeadow Rocks began on Facebook on July 30 by Laura Ann Stebbins, and within eight days the group had 154 members.
Stebbins created the Facebook group after hearing about area communities doing similar activities.
“I first learned about the painted rocks through a friend who lives in Connecticut. They have a group called Kindness Rocks,” Stebbins said.
The rock movement isn’t only in New England. Painting rocks in bright colors and designs and hiding them around towns and cities for others to find is becoming a national phenomena.
“I was in Lake Placid, NY, for an Ironman race in July and found them scattered around to inspire the athletes. I also have friends posting about finding them in Connecticut, Virginia and Texas,” Stebbins said.
The East Longmeadow Rocks group posts pictures of families painting their rocks as well as hiding them around town. Sometimes the posts will include hints as to where the rocks are hiding, and others will include a photo of the location.
“The purpose of this group is to inspire community involvement and excitement. It gets kids and adults alike out in the town exploring and searching for their next treasure,” Stebbins added. “My niece, sister and I have a blast searching out rocks to paint and imagining what we could paint them to be. It also helps brighten the day of people who just happen to stumble across a rock.”
Stebbins has been attaching small laminated papers to the rocks that offer the link to the East Longmeadow Rock’s Facebook page. This is in hopes that more people will join the group, or learn what their painted rock is for.
“I have had multiple people join the group and say how much finding one of these little treasures brightened their day. I’ve told anyone who joins this is purely for fun and the more involvement the more fun we can have. Everyone is encouraged to invite their friends and family to join,” Stebbins emphasized.
While joining the Facebook group and posting photos and location hints can be exciting, Stebbins notes that people don’t need to be apart of the online group to partake in the activities.
“Seeing the happy faces of the kids that post the rocks when they find them makes it absolutely worth it. We have just as much fun hiding rocks as finding them,” she said.
To find the group on Facebook and join in on the fun, search for “East Longmeadow Rocks” under groups.