Scattered around downtown, painted rocks are drawing the attention of many Columbus citizens. Their bright colors and inspiring messages have been brightening people’s days ever since a group of moms started these random acts of kindness.

Margaret Tunny, a local mom involved in the group, said that her friend, Julia Federle, discovered this idea of painted rocks on Facebook. Federle then proceeded to get a group of moms together to paint rocks and hide them in the community.

“It was summer and all of our kids were off doing different things,” Tunny said, “so a lot of us moms got together and started painting rocks.”

The moms take buckets to a local landscaping place called “Got Rocks,” where they gather smooth, flat rocks. They then clean the rocks, make sure they are dry, and begin the painting process.

Spray painting the rocks is the simplest way to make sure the paint will last. After the rocks dry, the moms use paint markers to write encouraging messages or draw cute designs. Then, they coat the rock with a sealant and put a label on the bottom, instructing people to go to the Columbus IN Rocks Facebook page.

If someone should find a rock, “they should smile, have someone take their picture, and post it on our Facebook page,” Tunny said.

The group of moms have enjoyed Exhibit Columbus downtown, hiding most of their rocks in that particular area. Typically, they will go out together with large bags of rocks and spread them around areas such as Mill Race, Donner, or Clifty parks.

Initially, this group made around 2,000 different rocks, spreading them throughout Columbus. Most of their rocks have messages like ‘You matter’ or something more simple like ‘Joy.’ Some rocks have small drawings on them of minions featured in the movie Despicable Me or other characters.

The group has dedicated their Facebook page to spreading kindness and positivity, exclusively through their painted rocks. Their hope is for other groups of people to begin spreading rocks they have created themselves as well as rehide the ones they find.

Teachers from Clifty Creek Elementary School and St. Peter’s Lutheran School called the group of moms wanting to get their students involved. They talked to several classes, handing out rocks and encouraging students to go out and hide them, sharing with others what they were doing.

“One of the students from either Clifty or St. Peter’s hid rocks, and their parents were like, ‘What is this about?’ So they explained it to them,” Tunny said.

“The parents messaged us and said ‘Thank you so much for doing this.’ That was something that really reminded us: ‘Hey, this is having an impact.’”

Painted rocks are making an impression at Columbus East as well. Katelyn Orosco-Murphy, a junior, said she found a painted rock on the Central Middle School track during a workout that said: ‘Aim High,’ a phrase she found motivational at the time.

“I felt great because it was my first rock,” Orosco-Murphy said.

Spreading kindness has been the main objective of the group of moms who have scattered painted rocks around Columbus. They encourage others to paint their own rocks and hopefully make an impact in the community, even if they do not know who they are impacting.

“It’s a random act of kindness.” Tunny said. “Sometimes you won’t know what happens to it, and that’s okay.”