- February 5, 2025
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Jayu Hilley. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Monroe Steppe. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Nicholas Meglio. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Armand Bellinger. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Lydia Walker. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Lydia Walker. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Aron Jasper. Photo by Nichole Osinski
Hannah Jasper. Photo by Nichole Osinski
It was a full auditorium at the Port Orange Regional Library on Wednesday, June 20, as families sat at tables painting small rocks that would later be hidden around the city to spread some kindness.
Some of the rocks had words on them, many had bright designs or pictures painted on them and all the rocks were part of a positive project to bring encouragement to others.
The Kindness Rocks Project was part of a "Libraries Rock" summer reading program put on by the library and gave participants the opportunity to hide their colorful pieces of rock art throughout the community for others to find. There were 181 rocks painted on Wednesday, and 165 rocks were hidden by library staff as well.
Lauren Bridges, head of youth services for the Port Orange Regional Library, said the hour-long program, which included many fifth-graders and under, was a way for children to enjoy the library while having fun in a group setting. Of course, there was also the adventure of finding the rocks staff had hidden around the library.
"Those ones we've hidden all around are each some sort of encouraging positive thing, whether that's a fun picture we've painted or a message," Bridges said. "A lot of ours are about reading."
The pay-it-forward project is part of a national movement started by life coach Megan Murphy for people to find encouragement through the creation of inspirational rocks that are left to be found.
"I think it's just a great tool to build community," Librarian Assistant Sarah Grove said. "That's what we enjoy doing here in the library — having everybody being able to enjoy each other's company and doing programs where everybody feels welcome."
