GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Walking around the West Valley, you may want to keep your eyes peeled on your surroundings because you may never know what you'll find.
A group paints and hides rocks in spots for people to find with the hopes of making someone's day a little brighter.
"It's all about kindness," Jacqueline Harvey-Whiteman said.
"Letting people know you do matter," Jean Reynolds said.
These two women are part of 'Goodyear Rocks,' a group that initially formed in the West Valley and has now garnered more than 3,000 followers.
"This group is amazing," Reynolds said. "We've all come together; we've all become friends. I hold a paint party at my house and there's anywhere between 8-12 people who come and we paint rocks together."
The group was created in 2017 by Tammie Sikes and quickly grew. The goal is to spread joy with these tiny works of art.
"I want the next generation to know there's kindness in the world," Reynolds said.
The ladies will spend hours painting rocks with words, phrases and pictures of anything and everything. Some of them are so elaborate and detailed it's like looking at a masterpiece.
"We have quite a few artists that go around the community and paint and hide the rocks," Harvey-Whiteman said. "We're just trying to make the community happy and have everyone smile because not everyone is having a good day all the time. So that's what the rocks are all for, they're kindness rocks and we do this out of the goodness of our hearts."
Harvey-Whiteman got interested in painting rocks after finding one four years ago. She says she had recently lost her sister and was having a hard time with the loss. She began walking, and one day found a painted rock on the ground. The name of the group was on the back, so she reached out. She has since painted a countless number of these sedimentary gems in her sister's honor.
"I just painted 100 rocks for the Rock Away Hunger event, and I paint 30 rocks a month for a challenge group I'm in," she said. "So, I've maybe painted about 10,000 in four years. It makes me happy because it makes people happy."
The painted rocks are placed anywhere and everywhere. Spots include statues, pools, hiking trails, parks, landmarks, grocery stores and other businesses. Someone who finds these messages of hope is asked to post them on the Goodyear Rocks Facebook Page and keep them or hide them for someone else to find.
"It just feels good to have somebody else find something that makes them smile," Reynolds said. "I have hidden rocks and gone around the corner to see the people who find the rocks and to see their reaction that makes me want to do more."
The group also enjoys giving back. They recently held a food drive giving people a painted rock in exchange for donated items. They say they were able to donate more than 580 items to the Agua Fria Food Bank.
"I think it says there's a lot of good people and kind people," Reynolds said.
The group has more things planned for the future including painting more rocks. With more messages of hope expected to be hidden around the Valley, members say to keep your eyes open because you never know when one may pop up.
"I love this group," Reynolds said. "We've all just become friends. It just means a lot to me. It means a lot to be able to share what we do with the people who find the rocks. if you haven't found one, keep looking."