Image of some of the painted Kindness Rocks (Photo provided by Michelle Gallucci)

By Justin Goulet with video by Connor Gunn

Kindness Rock Project spreading joy in Lethbridge

May 18, 2020 | 8:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Notice any painted rocks lately?

Lethbridge Family Services (LFS) and its DaCapo Disability Services department have taken on the Kindness Rock Project initiative.

It sees plain rocks painted with inspirational messages and fun images, then delivered to the homes of clients. The rocks have since been spread out across local areas such as Nicholas Sheran Park and at Henderson Lake.

“Our DaCapo Disability Services department wanted to engage our clients who we can’t see face to face but we’re always FaceTiming with and [speaking with using] Microsoft Teams and that kind of thing, so we got a bunch of rocks and we painted them according to their requests…then we chloroxed them and dropped them off at their homes,” explained Michelle Gallucci, director of advancement and communications at LFS.

“Then, what our department did is spread all of these rocks across our whole two offices – north and south offices – with little messages, little funny faces, that kind of thing and people look at them, and I know that it gives them some joy and happiness just looking at them.”

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LNN reporter, Connor Gunn, spoke with Gallucci…

Gallucci explained the campaign was first started by a woman in Massachusetts hoping to spread messages of hope across her community.

She said with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the crew at LFS and DaCapo believed that people were and continue to need messages of positivity during this difficult time.

Since LFS and the DaCapo team took on the initiative, Gallucci said it’s taken on “a life of its own”.

She said they’ve learned that some parents are actually using the rock painting as art class home-schooling techniques for their children.

“We’re so happy and we’re hoping this is going to spread some goodwill in our community as we gently and carefully resume services. We want people to know that there’s positivity in this community because it’s been a bit difficult,” Gallucci told Lethbridge News Now.

“We’d like to share more stories of rocks or pictures of people finding them because I just think it’s an amazing idea – not expensive, anyone can do it, you don’t have to be an artist [and] you can look online and get designs.”

She added that more rocks are coming in an effort to lift spirits of those impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“This is just a really important time right now to show kindness because after self-isolating and home-schooling children, and just all the changes that we’ve experienced, it’s just so important to show the humanity behind our kindness and helping our neighbours work through maybe this difficult time where mental health issues are at the forefront.”

Stories and messages of hope can also be shared with Lethbridge Family Services through their Facebook page, which they will then share out with fellow members of the community.