News : Kindness Rocks in Garrison: Teens prepare inspirational messages for every family in one Benton County town

Kindness Rocks: Renee Gram, left and Caroline Erickson have been painting inspirational messages to share with all of Garrison. A sample of some of the inspirational messages that Garrison residents will soon receive. "Make today so awesome that yesterday gets jealous." "Be brave." "Light will always pierce the darkness." "Be the rainbow in someone's cloud." "Oh my darling, it's true: Beautiful things have dents and scratches, too." "You are stronger than you think." Thanks to a group of teenagers involved in a summer project at the Garrison Public Library, every household in that small town will soon receive a hand-painted stone with an inspirational message. Caroline Erickson says this cookie-themed rock is one of her favorites. "Kindness Rocks" was the idea of Library Director Angela Dague, and the teens responded enthusiastically to the suggestion. On Tuesday, Caroline Erickson and Renee Gram spent a few hours painting some of the rocks. Using a several different colors of paints and markers, the girls chose stones from the rock garden outside the library. They found rocks shaped like a foot, a cookie and even a slice of pizza, and picked a message fitting for that shape. Soon the teens will deliver a rock to each of Garrison's homes, a number that Caroline estimates at around 150.