This past weekend we gathered to have a classic American 50’s style diner experience! While we enjoyed the unique decor and the heavy presence of Elvis, we ordered sundaes and milkshakes and got down to creating art for our community service project! Each year we dedicate some of our time to doing something that benefits the local community.

New to us this year is the Kindness Rock movement! What is the Kindness Rocks Project? Goal #1: Inspire others through randomly placed rocks along the way. Goal #2: Recruit every person who stumbles upon it to join in the pursuit of inspiring others through random acts of kindness. Rocks bring happiness, meaning, comfort, etc to their recipients. Mostly, they bring a sense that they matter, they they are loved. By participating in this project, the au pairs are expressing their creative side, joining in an activity that fosters happiness, lending support, and brings people outside and connecting.

Our au pairs created special country flag rocks along with artistic, supportive and happy rocks. Each au pair left the gathering with finished rocks to hide somewhere in their specific community. As we were preparing to depart from Bert’s Diner, we spotted a Kindness Rock sitting outside. We picked it up, napped a picture and placed it back for someone else to find and share a smile! Our au pairs know all too well how important a random kindness can be, how much a smile can change a day. #fearlessglobalcitizen

This year, we are continuing to support Sending Smiles. Sending Smiles is a local 501C3 charity started by local sisters and their cousins! Their mission is to send messages of hope to sick children and their families. We want to help those who are battling cancer, sickness, or other conditions to SMILE by sending them crazy fun postcards!! To date they have sent over 25,000 postcards to children and families across the United States. You can check out the amazing work Sending Smiles does by visiting their Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/SistersSendingSmiles/