With only about a 10% return of our rocks being found and posted, this is AMAZING. Imagine the number of Northeast Ohio Rocks! painted rocks out creating smiles across the United States.
We did some Northeast Ohio Rocks! math. We currently have 211,000+ members. Our membership has fluctuated quite a bit this summer. On average we added approximately 500 new members per week. That meant we were losing members as well. It was ok. It appeared to be people not participating or people from other places who had joined the group to post a picture and had decided to leave the group. What we were seeing is new people coming to the group. They had found a rock and they had found us. New people becoming painters and hiders. It's been amazing!
We consistently had 123,000 active members in the group this summer. Now, here is where it gets fun. If you say 123,000 members painted 50 rocks, that equals 6,150,000 Northeast Ohio Rocks! painted rocks. Many of our painters have painted lots more rocks. Many of our painters have painted thousands of rocks. My 5,000th painted rock is sitting on my dining room table waiting to go out into the World and create smiles.
How amazing is 6,150,000 Northeast Ohio Rocks! painted rocks? Well, me tell you! If each of those rocks was 2 inches, they would reach 194 miles from Cleveland Ohio to Parkersburg WV. That is a long line of painted rocks from the top to the bottom of Ohio and across the Ohio River into West Virginia.
Those 2 inch rocks weigh 1,230 tons. That compares to 6 of the worlds largest mammal, a 200 ton blue whale. Or, 16 fully loaded ready for take off 737’s. Imagine being at the airport and seeing 16 piles of Northeast Ohio Rocks! painted rocks the size of a 737.
The amount of Northeast Ohio Rocks! painted rocks found in every single state and those found around the World in nearly 100 foreign places is incredible. I love that so many of us have been able to come together as one group and create smiles around the World one painted rock at a time.
We create with a purpose and that purpose is to paint rocks and give them a life to hide them and send them on a journey to create smiles and chain reactions of kindness. Northeast Ohio Rocks! has accomplished that. We continue to paint and hide rocks. Our rocks continue to find new people who are inspired by our unconventional way of making a difference.
Thank you to my daughter in law, Mallory for suggesting I do this. Thank you to my husband, Jeff and to my daughter, Charli for all their love and support. And, THANK YOU to a couple of amazing ladies Michelle and Fran who are always there helping run Northeast Ohio Rocks!