Editor’s note: The Meridian Star is looking for acts of kindness or compassion in our community to ease the stress caused by the coronavirus. If you see something, let us know by emailing editor@themeridianstar.com.

With schools closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, some children in one Meridian neighborhood are using their time off spreading words of encouragement with sidewalk chalk.

Lauren Denham, a neighborhood mom, said it all came about after several parents sent text messages to each other and decided to put shamrocks on their windows, doors, mailbox, and fences, where they lived on Grandview, Country Club, Oakdale and 13th Place in Meridian.

“Because a lot of adults and kids are quarantined right now and working from home, or out of school, we decided we needed to find something for the kids (and parents) to do outdoors that didn’t involve being around each other and other people,” Denham said. “The kids and parents would go walking outside and would search for shamrocks in each other’s yards. The kids loved it. So we decided to do something like this again.”

A message was sent Friday to the same group of people, and they decided to write encouraging messages to each other with sidewalk chalk, Denham said.

The messages included inspirational quotes, encouraging phrases, rhymes, and Bible verses.

“On Saturday afternoon, we noticed people started driving by our houses,” Denham said. “They would stop to get out and look at the driveway, or they would roll down their window to see the driveway art.”

What began as a way to entertain the kids became more than that for the adults, as well,  Denham said.

“It became something the parents needed as well,” Denham said. “We’re all going through this together and none of us have ever had to quarantine ourselves from each other like this – almost all of us have been sent home from work, so we’re trapped indoors too. This was a way for the kids to feel like they were still kinda seeing their friends too.”

Denham said the feedback from the art has been positive.   

“I’ve seen where people have tagged other people in our pictures on Facebook and encouraged others to try this in their neighborhood,” Denham said. “Some of those neighborhoods being out of state. People are posting, “Great idea, we did a drive-by, it made us smile.”

Denham said the group is trying to come up with a new scavenger hunt for the kids each week until the COVID-19 crisis is over.