Strathmore Kindness Rocks gets families outside

By Sabrina Kooistra Times Contributor

Strathmore Kindness Rocks is a new movement that offers an adventure-induced crafting experience for all ages, helping get kids off the couch and exploring the outdoors.
The premise is to decorate a rock through bedazzling, drawing and painting, and leaving a positive message or image. The rock is then hidden somewhere in Strathmore and instructions on how to find the rock are posted on the group’s Facebook page.
Strathmore Kindness Rocks seeks to link community members together in an uplifting and creative way. The activity is reminiscent of geocaching – a trend that encourages families and friends to use GPS to discover small packages and random items – but is designed to be close to home.
For Strathmore Kindness Rocks, and other groups of the same nature, this is more than an opportunity to create a town-wide scavenger hunt. It is an opportunity to showcase one’s artistic skills to others in the community.
Established on July 6th by Wheatland County resident and mom Beth-Anna Van Dellen, Strathmore Kindness Rocks joins two other new community groups, Strathmore Playground Review and Macaroni Kid Strathmore-Wheatland, organized by another local mother Abbie McCullough. Strathmore Playground Review is a platform created to deliver first-hand reviews of local playgrounds, while Macaroni Kid Strathmore-Wheatland seeks to share information on events and activities pertinent to Strathmore and area residents.
“These local Facebook pages (and) groups are so important to the community… (they) unite us in fun events and activities that connect, engage, and grow our community,” McCullough said.
All three groups have been garnering popularity and creating a buzz on Facebook this spring and summer. Despite the short period they have been in existence, this trio is seeing a healthy increase in followers. Over 60 Facebook users have already liked Strathmore Playground Review, close to 50 people are members of the Strathmore Kindness Rocks group, and Macaroni Kid Strathmore-Wheatland boasts close to 550 likes.
McCullough finds this an encouraging sign to continue and grow, and invites others to follow them on Facebook to review information and updates.
“It gets families outside exploring, trying new things, visiting many areas of town… and creating memories together,” she said.
More information can be found on the Facebook pages for seasonal event notices, contest rules, as well as more information on how to participate in ongoing activities.