Community Kindness Garden
Spreading Kindness, Shredding the Stigma — One Rock at a Time
The Community Kindness Garden is taking root in Boyne City, and it belongs to all of us.
At Surf the Earth Mental Health Community, our heartbeat is simple: real conversations, genuine connections, and a compassionate community. It's what Ali believed in, and it's what shapes everything we do. Right now, that heartbeat is taking on a new form — quite literally growing at the Boyne District Library — in the Community Kindness Garden.
What Is the Community Kindness Garden?
The Community Kindness Garden will be an outdoor gathering space at the Boyne District Library in Boyne City, MI — a place where kindness grows, connections are made, and every person who passes through is reminded of one simple, powerful truth: you matter.
Library Director Monica Peck has graciously given us a perfect spot at the entrance to the library's community meeting room, and the Boyne Valley Garden Club has been a supportive partner in our planning process. Thank you both — your generosity made this possible.
The garden will be filled with hand-painted rocks carrying messages of kindness from people across our community, alongside local art, sculpture, and murals that reflect the heart of Northern Michigan.
We're in the building process — with community hands, community hearts, and community voices.
Photo Credit The Kindness Rocks Project®
Why Rocks? Why Kindness?
Because kindness matters — and a small, unexpected reminder of it can make a real difference.
"One message at just the right moment can change someone's entire day, outlook, or life."
That's the mission of The Kindness Rocks Project®, founded by Megan Murphy.
A painted rock that says you matter, you are loved, keep going is a quiet way of telling someone they're not alone. It might catch a person on a great day and make it better. It might find someone on a harder one. Either way, it says: we see you, we care about you, you belong here.
Painting a rock for someone else is just as meaningful as the rocks themselves. As The Kindness Rocks Project® states: "What's better than creating kindness rocks for others… getting together with people in your community to create kindness together!"
Our rock-painting events are a chance to slow down, get creative, and spend time with other people in your community. And there's something quietly meaningful that happens alongside it — the rock you paint will end up in the hands of someone you'll never meet, and for a moment, the two of you are connected through a small, kind message. We’ve seen how powerful this is. Painting a rock becomes an opportunity to talk about kindness and feelings — for all ages. It’s simple, and it works.
Getting Started
I am grateful for the community members who have joined the cause to bring this to life. Right now, our first big focus is landscaping. We are gathering bids and finding someone who can take on the install.
A few other updates from the garden:
The Boyne City Kiwanis Club generously donated $500 toward the project. Thank you, Kiwanis — that support means so much to us.
We submitted an application for the Boyne City Main Street Community Grant, with a decision expected in June. We'll keep you posted.
Our planning group is shaping the design, the artwork, and the long-term care of the garden so it can keep growing for years to come.
Ways You Can Help
Every contribution is a ripple…
Donate. Your gift funds materials, artwork, landscaping, and the programming that grows alongside the garden. Every dollar plants kindness. Donate to the Community Kindness Garden
Paint a rock. Once the garden is ready, the community will be invited to add hand-painted rocks with messages of kindness. We'll be holding community painting events leading up to and after the opening — keep an eye out and join us. It’s always FREE.
Get involved. Whether you're an individual, a school, a business, a club, or a group of friends who want to be part of this — please reach out. We'd love to make a plan together.
Join the Kindness Crew. If you have time, talents, or just heart to volunteer, we'd love to have you. Email us at surftheearthmhc@gmail.com.
Upcoming Rock-Painting Events
We've got opportunities coming up to sit down, paint a rock, and add your kindness to the garden:
Boyne City High School visit during Mental Health Awareness Month — we're heading in to paint rocks with students. Reaching young people early, when so much of life's pressure starts to build, is one of the most meaningful things we get to do.
Stroll the Streets Kickoff at the Boyne District Library, Friday, June 12, 6-8 pm, we welcome you to stop by our table, grab a rock, and create something beautiful with us.
The BDL Friends host this outdoor event to ring in summer with carnival GAMES and PRIZES, Summer Reading Program info, face painting, crafts, a used book sale, and free popcorn, ice cream, sno-cones, and cotton candy. This free evening is full of fun, featuring a FOAM PARTY for the kiddos.
LOCATED IN THE PARKING LOT OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY
More community events coming soon — follow us on our Event Page, Facebook, and Instagram for the latest.
The Ripple Is Already Spreading
At our Shred the Stigma weekend, our rock-painting workshop sparked something in someone who took the idea home — and now there's a Kindness Garden taking shape in Holland, Michigan. One rock. One message. One spark. And suddenly another community is doing it too.
That's exactly what we hope happens. Schools, businesses, neighborhoods, towns — anyone who wants to start a kindness garden of their own, please do. Reach out if you'd like to be part of the ripple, and we'll happily share what we've learned along the way.
Our Community Kindness Garden
This garden is for all of us — our kids, our neighbors, our friends, and the people we haven't met yet. It will grow with us, change with us, and stay rooted right here in our community — a place to stop, breathe, and be reminded that you matter and so does the person next to you.
In the spirit of The Kindness Rocks Project®:
take one for motivation, share one for inspiration, or add one to the garden and watch it grow.
Whether you donate, paint, plan, or just stop by once it's open and read the messages — you're part of this.
Reach out: surftheearthmhc@gmail.com
Donate: Boyne Community Kindness Garden
Learn more: surftheearthmhc.com/kindness-garden
Let's spread kindness and shred the stigma — one rock, one message, one connection at a time.
With Gratitude,
Tammy Patrick
Founder and President
Surf the Earth Mental Health Community
Be kind. Be mindful. Be you.
Crisis Resources: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text) • 211 for local community resources