FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Fairfax County Police Officer Mario Colorado wasn’t expecting a pleasant surprise when he walked outside the police station to grab something.
"I noticed these rocks and thought that’s strange, I hadn’t seen that before," Colorado said.
What he found was something thousands of people have come across over the last two years in Fairfax County, painted rocks with encouraging messages.
"I saw the rocks had these sayings; back the blue, stay safe, thank you for our safety, and Facebook Fairfax rocks," Colorado said.
Those rocks are just a few of the designs that came from the brainchild of Julie Trace.
Trace got the idea from a nationwide trend of painting rocks for others to find. She started the Facebook group Fairfax Rocks! two years ago. Since then it’s grown by more than 3,000 people.
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"It’s great to see the pictures people post," Trace said.
Trace said she’s not the only one painting and placing rocks, she said there are many others who dedicate their time to spreading joy, which is after all the whole point of the group.
"You don’t know what someone’s going through and what sort of circumstances they’re dealing with or facing and what kind of day they’re having," Trace said. "It could just help them in the moment to put a smile on their face or if they’re facing something really big in their life."
For Officer Colorado, he said finding the rocks was an instant day maker.
"Being a police officer as long as I have, whenever someone says thank you for your service or shows a gesture of appreciate, it always helps our day and helps our officers on the street and it’s important for officers to feel that support here in the community," Colorado said.
Colorado said the officers are going to take a page out of the Facebook’s page’s book and start doing things like that themselves.
"As we move forward it seems as though there are less and less kind acts that happen and in doing so it makes someone day that much better," Colorado said.
Trace said that is what it’s all about.
"I hope that spreads and continues to grow in our community because we need that, people need that," Trace said.