May the fourth be with you
Last night at the library, everyone was welcome to join as we decorated Kindness Rocks for the launch of The Kindness Rocks Project in Fort Erie.
Together, we painted rocks — most with a motivational message, but some were just prettied up. Then, our talented painters took the rocks home to hide somewhere in the community, to share an uplifting message and spread kindness to others.
The Kindness Rocks Project is an international campaign to spread inspiration and motivation for unsuspecting recipients through random inspirational rocks dropped along the way. It was started by Megan Murphy, a life coach living in Cape Cod. She would often take long walks on the beach and feel inspired by the pieces of sea glass, shells, and rocks she found along the way.
One day, she picked up a rock, wrote a quote on it with a Sharpie, and left it for someone to find. A few days later, a friend found the rock and was thrilled. Murphy initially denied leaving the rock behind, but was touched that her friend had been so excited. She started leaving more rocks on the beach, and then in other places, too. Soon, other people started contributing rocks as well. Since then, the project has exploded all over the United States, and spread to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland, Thailand, Haiti, Italy and England, as well as here in Canada. The purpose, as started by Murphy, is simple: To cultivate connections within communities and lift others up through simple acts of kindness.
Please keep an eye out for our rocks around town, and check our events calendar in coming months for more rock decorating parties. Please post any rocks you find on social media — tag the Fort Erie Public Library and use the hashtag #feplkindnessrocks so that we can see that you found them. And then, bring the rocks back to the library. Volunteers will re-hide the rocks for someone else to find. If you find a rock, we sincerely hope it brightens your day.
If you missed out on painting rocks with us last night, don’t worry — we have lots of fun programs planned for the month of May. Tomorrow is an important day for Star Wars fans — it’s May the 4th. Join us Star Wars Trivia at our Centennial Branch at 3:30 pm, and feel free to greet everyone you meet with ‘May the fourth be with you!’
On Saturday, May 5, those 16 and over are welcome to join us at our Crystal Ridge branch to make bath bombs. This session is for adults, though those under 16 are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Calll the library to register and reserve your spot.