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rock garden

Scattered throughout the beautiful city of Port Colborne, are small acts of kindness that are left to help lift the spirits of those who find them. Have you ever stumbled upon a hand painted rock with an inspirational message? With images and messages like “be kind” and “you are loved”, these rocks are helping spread kindness throughout the community every day. Thanks to Patte McCarthy, a local Port Colborne resident, Port Colborne Rocks was brought to Port Colborne with the goal of making people smile. As we continue to persevere as a community, it is now more important than ever to spread contagious messages of kindness to everyone around you.

Patte McCarthy, the founder of Port Colborne Rocks, was introduced to the global initiative of the Kindness Rocks Project while she was on a trip to Cape Cod in 2016. The Kindness Rocks Project started in 2015 in Cape Cod when a rock with the message “You’ve got this” was left on the beach. After the rock was found, more people started leaving more rocks with inspirational messages behind for others to find and enjoy. Patte was inspired by the joy this global initiative has brought people and decided to bring the idea home with her to Port Colborne. Port Colborne joined the many different kindness rocks projects all over the world, with the same goal in mind, to lift the spirits of unsuspecting people every day.

 In 2017, Patte McCarthy, along with some of her friends, began to create Port Colborne Rocks. They scattered their creations around the city, and citizens began to spread the joy of their findings by leaving their own creations around town. Patte’s goal is to help this city maintain a constant sense of kindness and joy throughout. Residents are encouraged to take the rocks they find to help brighten up their day, and eventually, #PORTicipate by placing their own creations for others to find and enjoy throughout our community. A simple way of paying it forward.

The main goal of Port Colborne Rocks is to promote random acts of kindness to unsuspecting recipients by sharing inspirational messages on the rocks they create. Port Colborne Rocks wants you to #PORTicipate and add your inspirational creations to their Kindness Rock Garden, which is located along the Port Colborne Promenade. To #PORTicipate and support Port Colborne Rocks, you can follow these easy steps.

  1. You will need some rocks, preferably flat, smooth ones.
  2. Prepare the rocks by painting them with non-toxic paint
  3. Use paint pens to create your artwork (please, no sticker or google eyes as they can be harmful to animals)
  4. Finally, topcoat your artwork with a non-toxic clear sealant

Find a beautiful rock? Share it on Port Colborne Rocks Facebook page, to show your support for this wonderful project.

As everyone continues to spread messages of kindness and joy to those around you, this is an easy to #PORTicipate this summer and support a great initiative. This project wouldn’t be possible without Patte and her team, who strive to pay it forward and brighten up the spirits of everyone around them. We hope to see your beautiful creations scattered around the city as you choose to #PORTicipate this summer.