Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Oct. 25, 2024 – A 15-year-old artist opened his first blessing box on Sunday.
Aden Graham, the owner of Aden ROCKS, a non-profit art business, built the blessing box to replace one in Bay. According to Graham, he was putting food in the old box until it disappeared.
After asking Bay Mayor Paul Kieth about adding his own box, which he built with his father, Graham decided to place it by his Kindness Rock Garden by the railroad track near the First Baptist Church where he and his mother attend. Visitors are free to take and leave a rock.
Graham said on Thursday that he started Aden ROCKS in 2020 as a way to spread kindness.
“I started out painting rocks and handing out to people that I see doing kind things,” Graham explained. “Then I started doing food drives and raising money to feed homeless people. I wanted to feed one family, but I raised enough to feed two. I also started handing out kindness rocks to truck drivers.”
Although he said business is more of a charity now, he is working on a website so he can start selling some of his artwork as well. His physical shop is at his home in Jonesboro.
His mother, April Lowery, said she was very proud of her son for being so kind and setting an example for others.
“He just has the biggest heart you could ever imagine,” she bragged. “Like he said he would make rocks and hand them out to people and doing random acts of kindness. Out where we live, out by the factories, he got to hand them out to the truck drivers, and he’s got to meet people from Kenya and all over the place.”
Graham said he plans to do more for the community in the coming months, such as his third annual Halloween event and a Christmas food drive.
“My goal is to bring kindness to the world. With everything going on now, I think that’s what the world needs. There’s a lot of craziness going on with people. The world needs kindness right now.”