Local youth shows how Kindness Rocks

My usual monthly column took a different turn this month, but I think you'll find the detour will be worthwhile. This month I interviewed a young man who wants to share kindness throughout the community.

New Rockford-Sheyenne second-grader Theodore Hall visited the Transcript Office with a painted rock and a note for the people of New Rockford. His note read, "To the people of New Rockford, Thank you for being kind. I love the way our town communicates. Everyone waves at everyone. I miss hanging out with everyone, like going to the movie theatre or the park. I hope we can do it again soon."

Theodore, like so many other children, has spent the past months mostly at home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been no classes and few events to attend. As a results, many are feeling down and disconnected. I agree with Theodore, what a great time it is to share a little kindness.

The idea began at school - or online school rather - when his teacher, Mrs. Yri, gave her students a special writing assignment. She asked students to think of people in the community that they appreciate. For each day of the school week, students decorated a rock using paints, markers, or other art supplies. Once the rocks were decorated, students wrote a short note of appreciation and delivered the rock to the person's doorstep.

I reached out to Mrs. Yri who said they have done assignments like this before. When in school her class wrote 'thank you' notes to different people in our community that they are thankful for.

Mrs. Yri said, "With online school, I felt it was more important than ever to have my students reach out to the people they care about but still social distance. These assignments were a fun way to get them out of the house to brighten someone's day."

For Theodore, this project were a fun way to get them out of the house to brighten someone's day."

For Theodore, this project posed a challenge. Theodore has lived here in New Rockford for nearly as long as he can remember. His family moved here from Oregon before he had even started school. Sharing these rocks with five people wasn't enough. He wanted to share rocks with everyone, the whole community.

His grandmother Flo Lund explained that Theodore wanted to thank the community for the kindness people have shown when his father suddenly passed away two years ago. "I think it says a lot about how he sees the world when he can recognize the kindness of others," Lund said.

As for the painted rock, Theodore and I talked about it and decided to give it a home at the New Rockford garden located downtown. From there, perhaps others can find ways to appreciate it. You could take a picture with the rock and post it on social media with the hashtag #kindnessrocks. Or maybe you want to consider painting and sharing your own rock.