After Debbie Wells and other staff at Futures Rehabilitation Center read about kindness rocks that are placed in the area for others to find, they decided it would be a good project for individuals at the workshop.
With that in mind, a number of individuals at Futures painted over 100 kindness rocks Monday and Tuesday with varying designs and messages. Wells said staff member Brian Goode and three individuals then placed the rocks at the Marilla Reservoir Tuesday, but didn’t expect to receive a quick response. To their surprise, a message posted on Facebook late Tuesday made the project even more special for everyone at Futures.
The message read: “My son found these at Marilla. Whoever painted these, please know that they brought a big smile to a 7-year-old’s face.”
Wells said the Facebook message also brought a smile to the faces of the individuals and staff at Futures.
In recounting the genesis of project at the workshop, Wells said they learned of the local trend after reading about kindness rocks in The Bradford Era.
“A couple weeks ago we saw it in Round the Square (in The Bradford Era), it just sort of blossomed and we thought ‘we need to do this,’” Wells recalled. She said the rocks are typically painted with kind or positive messages or colorful designs before they placed outside for others to find.
Fellow employee Bonnie Johnson said there was some down-time for orders at the workshop at the beginning of this week, which gave individuals in her group and those in Amanda Charnisky’s group an opportunity to collect rocks outside of Futures. She said after the rocks were washed and dried, a number of people began painting designs and messages of their choice on them.
“We started out with two groups, but then we thought to ask everybody (in the workshop) to help and they all came over,” Johnson said. She said a number of rocks still have to be distributed in the community and are being stored at the workshop. The collection includes a rock with a Batman logo on it, another painted like SpongeBob and others decorated with bright paint and glitter. There is even a heart-shaped rock painted with a red heart painted in the center.
“I like this one because it reminds me of an ice cream cone,” Johnson said while holding up a rock with cream, pink and brown colors. One rock also had the word “autism” written on it.
“There are all types of pictures we painted on them” and many contain the initials FRC to represent Futures, Wells added.
Individuals at the workshop who enjoyed painting the rocks included Zara Ellis, who painted several beautiful and creative designs.
“I like to do artwork” on the rocks, Ellis said. “It is nice” to do.
Wells said more rocks will be placed in several locations in the community next week.
On a related note, Wells said the center is adding a bit of fun to the project by offering small prizes for the first 10 rocks returned to Futures at 1 Futures Way off East Main Street in Bradford. A tour will also be provided to those individuals who would like to see the entire center, she added.
“If they’d like a tour, they will be welcome” to walk through the center, Wells said with a smile.
