“Billy, I want to give you a heads up”

26 Sep “Billy, I want to give you a heads up”

Early Friday morning the telephone rang.   I answered to a friend saying: “Billy, I want to give you a heads up.  The mothers who started “Beaufort Rocks!” are upset that the workers from the Greenery are taking away rocks that children decorated and left for others to find in the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and other places in the City.”

Having no earthly idea what she was talking about, I held my breath (for fear that I was going to hear a complaint about rocks being thrown and hurting people) and then asked, “What in the world are you talking about? What are Beaufort Rocks?  And what do you want me to do?”

My friend patiently explained that “Beaufort Rocks!” is Beaufort’s take in  a larger project called “The Kindness Rocks Project” that is spreading around the country and seems to be something the City should support and not undermine. My friend then sent me the Facebook link and I learned more.

I also learned,  after calling the Chief of Police,  that while the Greenery is (most likely) inadvertently removing the rocks, the Beaufort Police Depatment is participating and promoting the program by recognizing children who bring the decorated rocks and discover to the police department.

Once I was more awake and thought about the caller, I was intrigued by what I was learning. I called one of the two mothers who I learned were promoting the program to see how I could help.

Beaufort Rocks! seems a like a good cause with a good mission that we should promote.  I asked the mother to write a paragraph for this newsletter so that others can learn and perhaps choose to support Beaufort Rocks!   I also invited her to come to City Council to share the program with Council and the public during the public comments part of our meeting.  The following is what the mother shared.

 

“Beaufort Rocks!” is but one of many extensions of “The Kindness Rocks Project”. The Kindness Rocks Project has two goals: 1 - to inspire others, and 2 - to recruit every person who stumbles upon it to join the pursuit of inspiring others through small acts of kindness. We at Beaufort Rocks! have the same base goals. But the main reason we created our own small-town chapter, was to provide more opportunities for quality family time, allow our kids to express themselves artistically, and to educate them about the town they live in by taking them to new locations each time they wanted to hide or search for rocks. We’ve used painting rocks as a fun rainy day activity, or to celebrate certain holidays to make the hunt for others a little more festive. Having 4 children of various ages, it’s often difficult to find things that they can all enjoy or agree on. Painting rocks, running around parks to hide and find them, and showing off their newfound treasures is something they ALWAYS agree on! For myself, as a parent, it means a lot to me to give my children something they can enjoy doing that enriches their minds through learning about their environment, showing off their creativity, and getting a little bit of exercise while they’re at it.

We almost always enjoy grabbing lunch, and taking a stroll through the area where we spend engaging in the rock hiding, which makes for a perfect day out for all involved.

It’s also heartwarming to see other families out participating, giving my children and me the opportunity to make new friends and come together as a community.

It’s such an easy way to give us all a break from the negativity going on in the world by making someone else’s day a bit brighter.

I am truly grateful for our beautiful city providing so much inspiration and culture for us to include in our fun! 

To learn more about Beaufort Rocks! go to their Facebook page and join us at city council on Tuesday to meet the principals.