5X社区

Kindness Rocks Kent

Community members are spreading kindness, with every rock they paint

Coming out of the summer of 2022, Cassandra Pegg-Kirby, director of the Kent State Women鈥檚 Center, felt what she called 鈥渁 heaviness鈥 as people came out of COVID-19 isolation with feelings of wanting to reconnect with other people but 鈥渕aybe weren鈥檛 quite sure how to do it anymore.鈥

She wanted to figure out a way to do something positive, to bring people together. So, she contacted some friends from all over campus, including , grounds manager; Kristin Williams, director, career services for the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship; and Linda Hoeptner-Poling, associate professor in the School of Art, and invited students and members of the community to the 5X社区 Women鈥檚 Center, inside the Williamson House on East Main Street, to paint rocks together on Wednesdays.

Kindness Rocks on a mantel

 

Rocking the community

鈥淜indness Rocks鈥 is a national viral trend in which people paint small rocks and leave them for other people to find. It鈥檚 intended to be a community-building activity that brings joy and spreads kindness.

鈥淲e called it 鈥楰indness Rocks Kent鈥 because we didn鈥檛 want it to be limited to just Kent State,鈥 Pegg-Kirby said.

鈥淭he hope is that in the process of coming together and painting rocks, people have conversations,鈥 she said. 鈥淭heir hands are busy, they鈥檙e actually being social and don鈥檛 realize it, and you can鈥檛 help but sort of internalize some of the things you鈥檙e writing and some of the things you鈥檙e thinking about.鈥

Karma Kindness Rock

 

Pegg-Kirby said they have incorporated rock painting into their open house events at the Williamson House and they鈥檝e had families and kids visit to paint rocks. Painting rocks is also a healing event as part of Sexual Assault or Relationship Abuse Awareness Month, she said.

She stresses that Kindness Rocks Kent is a community activity and is not 鈥渙wned鈥 by the Women鈥檚 Center. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not owned by anybody. We house it here, but this is really the community supporting the community,鈥 she said. There is a hashtag #kindessrockskent and an page that has photos of some of the rocks.

Kindness Rocks on the mantel at the Women's Center

 

How to paint a rock

Anyone who wants to paint a rock is welcome to visit the Women鈥檚 Center on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. to create their own rock design. Rocks are provided, as well as paints and markers.

Painters can take their rock with them, or leave it at the Women鈥檚 Center. There, it will be sprayed with a sealant and then placed in a Kindness Rocks rock garden on campus, where anyone who wants a rock can take one. 鈥淢aybe someone walking by these rocks feels the love and energy that was put into them, picks one up and puts it on their desk or in their room and it makes a difference,鈥 said Pegg-Kirby.

Kindness Rocks with messages

 

Previously, the rock garden was located behind the Kent Student Center. Pegg-Kirby said this semester the rock garden will be located near the Women鈥檚 Center so that it will be easier to keep it supplied with new rocks.

She said that if any organizations or student groups want to paint rocks as a group activity, they can email her or the Women鈥檚 Center.

鈥淟et鈥檚 paint some rocks and put some good vibes out there,鈥 she said.

Another kind of painted  鈥淜indness Rock鈥 was spotted this week on Front Campus, announcing the Undergraduate Student Government鈥檚 鈥淲eek of Kindness.鈥 See USG's schedule of events for the week .

The Rock with USG Week of Kindness message
POSTED: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 01:18 PM
Updated: Tuesday, April 30, 2024 10:25 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil B. Soencksen