History 21 The Podcast! - 4.15 Anoka Kindness Rock Garden

Kindness matters—especially for Stacey Burnham and Missy Merschman, who began the rock garden in Anoka to “scatter kindness, positivity and love while connecting us to one another.” After the devastating news of her daughter’s suicide in 2018, Stacey began receiving tokens of friendship from Missy that carried her through a time of healing. This grew into a space in Anoka where people can leave a painted rock or take one, sit and contemplate life, or celebrate the joy of the moment. Learn more in this podcast as Stacey and Missy talk about the rock garden and the parent nonprofit, The Kindness Alliance, and share stories of hope inspired by the organization’s events.

Host Rebecca Desens, ACHS Director, and Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator.

MN Kindness Alliance

MN Kindness Alliance’s mission is to inspire one another to spread kindness within our communities through education, events, community-based projects, and collaboration.

Their biggest program is the Anoka Kindness Rock Garden, which is physically found along the Rum River Trail by Main Street in Anoka.

Library Minute

The Anoka Kindness Rock Garden celebrates the transformative power of kindness via a space of vibrant colors, and messages that radiate positivity.

Anoka County Library has many materials about cultivating kindness in your life. For example, perhaps the title most fitting to this episode’s topic, A Pebble for Your Thoughts, comes from the founder of Kindness Rocks Project. Make & Share Random Acts of Kindness by Mique Provost leans into the idea of cultivating kindness through creative pursuits. George Saunders’ Congratulations, By the Way is an expanded version of a commencement address the writer made in 2013. These and many more are available from your local Anoka County Library.

• Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness: 101 stories of compassion and paying it forward compiled by Amy Newmark (177.7 CHI)

• Congratulations, By the Way: some thoughts on kindness by George Saunders (177.7 SAU)

• Everyday Kindness: shortcuts to a happier and more confident life by Stephanie Dowrick (177.7 DOW)

• Go Be Kind: 28 ½ adventures guaranteed to make you happier: a life-changing little journal by Leo Logothetis (177.7 LOG)

• Growing Sustainable Together: practical resources for raising kind, engaged, resilient children by Shannon Brescher Shea (649.1 SHE)

• Kindness Boomerang: how to save the world (and yourself) through 365 daily acts by Orly Wahba (177.7 WAH)

• The Kindness Cure: how the science of compassion can heal your heart and your world by Tara Cousineau (177.7 COU)

• Make & Share Random Acts of Kindness: simple crafts and recipes to give and spread joy by Mique Provost (745.5 PRO)

• Make Your Own Sunshine: inspiring stories of people who find light in dark times by Janice Dean (158.1 DEA)

• A Pebble for Your Thoughts: how one kindness rock at the right moment can change your life by Megan Murphy (158.1 MUR)

• Practice Random Acts of Kindness: bring more peace, love, and compassion into the world by Conari Press (177.7 PRA)

• Radical Kindness: the life-changing power of giving and receiving by Angela C. Santomero (177.7 SAN)

• This Book Will Make You Kinder: an empathy handbook by Henry James Garrett (177.7 GAR)

• When Action Follows Heart: 365 ways to share kindness by Susan Spencer (177.7 SPE)