Spread Travis Love
Travel was important to Travis and his parents. From his very first road trip at just 3 months old, to his last camping trip with “Aunt” Steenie, “Uncle” Steve & “Cousin” Leo just weeks before his death, Travis traveled with ease, taking in the sites and asking questions about each new state. He loved his trips to the beaches and Sea World in Southern California, the national parks in Utah, the bright lights of Las Vegas and the Baylor University campus, BBQ and football in the great state of Texas. His Great Aunt Toni and Great Uncle Marc gave him a world map for his 4th birthday, to further expand his love of travel.
In the months following Travis’ death, his “Aunt ‘Rena” created the Orange Kindness Rock Project as a way to honor Travis’ family love of travel, and to help spread that kind of happiness that Travis had to the rest of the world. She never imagined the rocks would be taken around the world, reaching all 50 states and over 40 countries worldwide, including cruising the glaciers in Antarctica. No one imagined the exciting adventures and exotic places to which Travis’ friends, family and even complete strangers would take his rocks.
A Travis Rock is a simple way to spread awareness about Isolated Congenital Asplenia. It’s an orange painted rock with the message “#SpreadTravisLove” on it. It’s decorated with pictures of things Travis loved, such as monster trucks, construction equipment, baseball, balloons and hearts. The back of the rock features our website. People take the rocks with them, taking care to choose places they think Travis would have loved. They’ve been mountain biking on the trails in Arizona, fishing on Flathead Lake in Montana, deep-sea fishing off the coast of Argentina, to a baseball game in South Korea, and even to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, followed by a Papal Mass at The Vatican.
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One of our favorite stories includes one very special rock that started in Arizona and was taken to a beach near San Diego. There, a young boy found the rock and asked his parents what is #SpreadTravisLove? The family visited our website and shared Travis’ story. The little boy decided he wanted the rock to go far, so he gave it to his uncle to take to Norway. In Norway, the uncle left Travis’ rock behind in a small village, where it was found by a family from the United Kingdom who had two sons. These little boys took the rock back to England with them, and took it around various spots, including camping on the beach and taking in the site of the Battle of Hastings. Their father compiled a photo collage and posted it to our Facebook page on what would have been Travis’ 5th birthday. It was a wonderful birthday gift to receive, knowing how Travis’ story, spirit and legacy were touching people around the globe!
Travis Rocks Gallery
If you’d like to receive a #SpreadTravisLove rock, please contact us and we’ll send you one. You simply have to promise to take the rock with you on a travel adventure or to a really cool place that a kid like Travis would have loved. Don’t forget to take pictures of your rock and post on Facebook or Instagram, using @team4travis or #SpreadTravisLove.
Find some small, flat smooth rocks.
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Wash and dry your rocks.
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Paint both the front and back of the rocks with orange craft paint (you may need two coats).
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Use paint or markers to decorate the front of the rocks. If you like simple, add a heart, some balloons or a baseball. Feeling more creative? Check out our Facebook page for inspiration. People have painted baseball bats, flowers, fire trucks, construction equipment and zebras (the symbol for Rare Disease).
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Use a Sharpie-type marker to write #SpreadTravisLove and team4travis.org on the back of the rocks.
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Seal both sides of the rocks to make it waterproof and weatherproof (Mod Podge and/or a clear shellac works best).
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Most important - find a cool spot to place your rocks, snap a photo and post it to social media using #SpreadTravisLove!
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