Painted Rocks, Powerful Purpose

“If someone didn’t drink and drive, Ally Goad would still be alive.” This single sentence sits at the core of one family’s heartbreak, and now, a global movement. 

Strangers might stumble across it written on rocks in parks, along hiking trails, near coffee shops or tucked into corners of Disney World and Universal Studios. For Danette Goad, founder and executive director of Ally Rocks 405, it all traces back to her daughter, Allyson Renee Goad. 

Ally was 22 years old when a drunk driver crossed four lanes of traffic in Texas and hit her head-on in the early morning hours of September 11, 2021. Just hours earlier, Ally was doing what she always did: showing up for people. 

“She lived a life of service and passion,” Danette said. “She always had a smile on her face. She was always the person who lit up the room.” 

In the days before the crash, Ally had dropped everything to help a friend in Texas care for her children, visited an ex-boyfriend’s grandfather in hospice, and made lasting memories with others, often alongside her beloved Great Dane service dog, Padfoot. 

Then came the knock on Danette’s door. She recalls seeing Edmond police officers standing in her home after her husband collapsed in grief. “The officers told me the news, and I told them they were liars,” she said. “They said it again, and I thought this must be an awful elaborate prank. But reality eventually sank in.” 

Weeks later, while preparing for a family trip to Disney and Universal Studios that Ally was meant to be on, a friend of the family dropped off 20 painted rocks and encouraged the Goads to hide them around the parks. 

On the back of each rock was Ally’s story in that single statement, as well as direction to a Facebook page telling more of her story. Without thinking too far ahead, the Goads placed the rocks throughout the trip. Once they were home, Danette and her daughter-in-law Emileigh reflected on the experience. 

“Did that feel therapeutic to you? Because it did to me,” Danette recalled asking Emileigh. She agreed, and the two kept painting rocks along with Ally’s wide circle of family and friends. A couple of rocks turned into a couple of hundred, and then strangers started asking to hide rocks in Ally’s memory, too. 

Today, Ally Rocks 405 has reached all 50 states, 43 countries, and nearly 800 destinations worldwide. “It was never planned,” Danette said. “It just organically became what it is today.” 

With the overwhelming interest and demand, the nonprofit officially formed in 2022 and has since expanded programming for drunk driving prevention through education, victim impact panels, law enforcement training, and legislative advocacy. Danette travels across Oklahoma and Texas speaking with offenders, training officers, and sharing Ally’s story anywhere she can. 

“What started as a family’s grief painting rocks turned into something where people across the globe are telling her story through art,” Danette said. Community members can get involved by creating and hiding art with Ally Rocks 405 tags, volunteering at events like Heard on Hurd, sponsoring the nonprofit’s annual softball tournament, or donating to support education and outreach efforts. 

“No one is paid for this,” Danette said. “Every cent goes directly toward the mission.” And for Danette, that mission is bigger than statistics. “What is most important to me is that the world knows my daughter lived, and that her story is changing lives.” 

Paint a rock, attend an event, or get involved by visiting allyrocks405.com or following @AllyRocks405 on Facebook and Instagram.