Fourth Graders' Kindness Rocks Event Benefits Food Bank

The Willow School’s fourth graders are becoming community leaders when it comes to kindness. The class recently hosted a Kindness Rocks Painting Party to benefit The Food Bank Network of Somerset County, an idea that came from the students themselves.

“While Maya LeVasseur [of Chester], one of our fourth graders, was on a trip with her family, she found a painted rock with a message on one side and #kindnessrocks on the other side,” Willow fourth grade teacher Ms. Denise Touhey explains. When Maya shared the rock and her story with the class, her classmates immediately researched the hashtag, finding The Kindness Rocks Project. The Kindness Rocks Project, originated by Megan Murphy, encourages people to make and leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life.

“That very day, the fourth graders went off and collected rocks from around campus and wrote messages on them,” Ms. Touhey said. “The kids loved the idea that their positive messages could make someone's day.”

That day inspired another fourth grader, Robbie Judd of Chester, to organize a Kindness Rocks painting party, open to the public. Robbie and his classmates decided they would make the painting party a benefit for The Food Bank Network of Somerset County, an organization the class has a special relationship with after the food drive they collaborated on in the fall.

The painting party was a great success! Attendees made colorful rocks with messages like “You are loved,” “Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo,” and “Be kind” painted on them. The event raised $125 for the local food bank.

“I hope that people that came to the workshop felt great about being kind and helping other people,” Robbie says. “I hope that the people that find the rocks are already having a good day, and it keeps getting better because of the kind words on the rock.”

Help spread kindness in our community! Find out more about the Kindness Rocks project here, and donate to The Food Bank Network of Somerset County here.

The Willow School is a small, independent school for preschool to eighth grade that helps children grow into self-motivated, well-informed, upstanding scholars who think for themselves and take responsibility for their actions in our world. Find out more about Willow at willowschool.org.