By Meryl Feld / Editor
A local Jewish business owner is raising mental health awareness one rock at a time. Well, one odd rock at a time.
“I want people to know that it’s okay to be anxious right now and it’s okay to be worried. Sometimes just having something small to hold onto, something small to connect them to one another, during really uncertain times like these, is a pretty powerful thing. Even though we are quarantined or divided… we are all, whether it feels like this or not, in this together,” Tim Fine told the Chronicle. He’s the owner of One Odd Rock, a company working to raise mental health awareness.
Over the past couple of months, Fine’s unique-looking fidget rock has become something calming for him. “It just somehow turned itself into this small little reminder that it was time to breathe. When I feel how smooth it is and how well it fits my hand, it’s a physical reminder to do that.”
Fine was laid off about a month and a half ago, as a result of COVID-19. Adding to that stress, one of his co-workers was diagnosed with COVID-19 not long after the pandemic hit the U.S.
“I’ve been using my rock as a way for me to calm down when I get stressed or overwhelmed,” Fine said, “It led me to think, maybe there are other people right now who are going through things that are difficult and even harder that could use this little reminder to take a deep breath and calm down when things get hard or overwhelming.”
One Odd Rock plans to sell replicas of Fine’s odd rock. He’s currently in the first phase of development — working on crowdfunding and finding the perfect materials to recreate his rock. Fine found the original rock while on a float trip in the Buffalo River in Arkansas.
Although he started this project about a month ago, One Odd Rock is already an official LLC.
“It’s a business in the sense of technically that’s how it’s being run… but the more important aspect of this is the impact we have,” Fine said. Sustained awareness about the importance of mental health is his end goal. He wants One Odd Rock to become a symbol of connectivity and a reminder that everything will be okay.
Fine launched One Odd Rock in May because it is Mental Health Awareness Month.
You can currently pre-order your very own odd rock. Each order will allow One Odd Rock to donate five rocks. He is also donating 10 percent of what he brings in to various mental health initiatives — to help them spread their message.
Fine hopes to donate his rocks to places like hospitals, children’s health centers, nursing homes, therapy offices and college campuses.
He hopes One Odd Rock will help ease the stigma surrounding mental health. “It’s important that we all are able to understand that mental health is an important part of who we are as a species and we need to take care of each other and ourselves in that regard,” Fine said.
Mental health awareness is personally important to Fine. He has been through the mental health care process himself — dealing with the stresses of college and growing up. He also studied psychology in college, which has always been an interest of his.
For Fine, this is about holding each other up. “It’s just some small little tangible feeling that we can all hold onto. And look down at our hand and know that there are other people out there holding the same thing and also going through hard times. It’s a cool notion that we could all use right now, because we’re all experiencing something hard,” Fine said, “I’m sure everyone will ascribe their own meaning to it, but I think it says you’re not in this alone.”
Tim Fine grew up in the Overland Park area. His family belongs to Congregation Beth Torah. He is the son of Michael and Jill Fine. His siblings are Katie (22) and Sam Fine (18). Tim Fine is 25.
You can learn more at www.OneOddRock.com or by visiting their social media pages. To contribute to the project or get involved, contact Tim Fine at .