‘Be Kind’: One Family’s Mission to Spread Love

In a small park in Monessen, Pennsylvania, colorful handmade bracelets hang gently from a tree beside a memorial bench.

Most people walking by may not know the story behind them.

But for Valerie Osborne, each bracelet represents something deeply personal: the continuing legacy of her mother, Hazel Brock Rone, and a message she spent nearly a century living by.

“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

A Ministry Born From Simple Moments

Before her passing in 2025 at age 99, Hazel Brock Rone and her daughter began making bracelets together as a way to pass the time during Hazel’s later years.

At first, it was simply an activity between mother and daughter—something to do alongside puzzles, songs, and quiet afternoons at home.

But soon, the bracelets began spreading beyond family and friends.

People started requesting them. Some asked for favorite colors or team colors. Others simply wanted the reminder attached to each one.

When people offered to pay, Hazel refused.

“She said, ‘No. God will provide. Let this be our ministry,’” Osborne recalled.

And just like that, the “Be Kind Ministry” was born.

A Life Defined by Warmth

Hazel’s family says kindness wasn’t something she performed occasionally—it was simply who she was.

A lifelong member of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Hazel spent more than seven decades singing in the church’s gospel chorus and raising a large family rooted in faith, warmth, and respect.

“She was just the nicest lady to everyone,” Osborne said.

Her home became known as a place where people felt welcomed, cared for, and safe.

Even now, her children say those lessons continue shaping the way they treat others.

Kindness That Keeps Moving

After Hazel’s passing, there was never any question about whether the bracelet ministry would continue.

Osborne simply kept going.

Today, she carries bracelets with her everywhere—handing them to strangers, church members, store clerks, or anyone who might need encouragement.

Sometimes, the moments feel unexpectedly meaningful.

One woman immediately became emotional after receiving a bracelet because it happened to be her late daughter’s favorite color.

Another woman asked Osborne if she was a minister after hearing the story behind the bracelets.

“She said, ‘There’s just something about you,’” Osborne recalled.

For Osborne, those moments feel like reminders that her mother’s kindness is still moving through the world.

A Tree Full of Reminders

Today, bracelets continue hanging from a tree behind Hazel’s memorial bench at Anthony E. Madison Sr. Veterans Memorial Park.

Anyone can take one.

Anyone can wear one.

Anyone can carry the message forward.

What began as beads and string between a mother and daughter has become something much larger: a quiet reminder that kindness often lives on long after people are gone.

And sometimes, the simplest gestures become the most lasting legacy of all.