By Emily Reed | Special to the Advertiser

The Kindness Rock Project is simple: inspire others through random acts of kindness, and painted rocks in public places.

Thorsby Girl Scout Troop 337 is hoping to use the project as a way to get more people involved by hosting a “kindness rock” painting event July 21 beginning at 6 p.m. at Richard Wood Park in Thorsby, for anyone wishing to participate.

“Our Girl Scout Troop sponsors the Facebook group page,” said event coordinator Amy Jolley. “Our troop, throughout the next school year, will be painting and hiding rocks with Girl Scout things, as well as other things, painted on them. We will start hiding those in Thorsby and other places in the county in August.”

According to the Kindness Rock Project’s website, the goal is to inspire others through randomly placed rocks along the way, and to recruit “every person” who stumbles upon a rock to join in the pursuit of inspiring others through random acts of kindness.

The rock painting craze is gaining popularity in cities nationwide where children and adults paint rocks, and hide them in public places to create a treasure-hunt type of game.

The community art project invites those that find the rocks to relocate them to other places both local and nationwide, and post about the rocks on each community’s Facebook page.

Jolley said for those planning to attend the Thorsby event, to plan to bring supplied needed to paint rocks including rocks, paint brushes, paper towels, sealant, glue, Sharpies, newspaper or an aluminum pan, a paper cup, or anything needed to paint rocks.

Girls from Girl Scout Troop 337 will be at the event painting rocks, hunting them, and hiding them, Jolley said.

The group will also be selling water for $1 per bottle, while supplies last.

Information about the scout group will also be available at the event.

“Since finding out about the Kindness Rocks my daughter and I, along with some friends, have painted and hidden some,” Jolley said. “We have also hunted for them and rehid them. I also incorporated this into our Vacation Bible School, and hid rocks at our church building for the kids to find. They loved hiding and finding the rocks.”

For more information about the group, visit “Thorsby Rocks” on Facebook.