Community groups spread joy with fun Kindness Rocks Project

Everyone needs as many good feelings as they can get, especially these days.

Knowing that one message at just the right moment can change someone's entire day, Koreen Mau and James Campanella of CrossCountry Mortgage in Schaumburg have teamed with local organizations to spread kindness during the pandemic.

The idea was hatched when Koreen and James discovered The Kindness Rocks Project online. Together, the pair has delivered rocks to be decorated with messages, inspiring quotes, pictures and more to various groups within the community.

Once the rocks are completed, they are picked up and spread around the area, bringing smiles to everyone who finds them.

To date, more than 300 rocks have been painted in collaboration with the WINGS Program and Friendship Village in Schaumburg, Alden of Huntley Senior Living, and, most recently, the Campanella Children's Choir of Northbrook.

For 20 years, Campanella Children's Choir and Educational Center has united children from diverse backgrounds around the Chicago suburbs on a path to artistic growth. The center is dedicated to erasing borders within the community while promoting tolerance, acceptance, and mutual understanding.

As the choir grew from a small group of singing toddlers to an award-winning choral ensemble, the close embrace of diversity became a core part of Campanella Educational Center.

Those interested in learning more, participating, or seeing regular updates can follow the group on Facebook at Campanella Children's Choir or CCM Rocks of Kindness.

The Kindness Rocks Project was started several years ago by a woman in Massachusetts with one simple purpose - to cultivate connections within communities and lift others up through simple acts of kindness.

It has since grown into an international program in which participants paint colorful and uplifting messages on stones for people to discover, enjoy and keep.

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