On Friday February 22, Mini-THON and National Art Honor Society (NAHS) collaborated together and hosted a painting night called ‘Paint It Forward” at Battlefield. The setup is similar to that of Muse Paintbar in Virginia Gateway, where there is an instructor teaching the participants how to paint the shared theme step-by-step. The Paint It Forward theme was a sunset so everyone who attended was taught how to paint the sunset that the instructor was displaying. 

One of the chairs of Mini-THON is junior Rachael Kim, whose responsibilities are handling the fundraising portion of the committee. “I joined Mini-THON last year as a committee member because it seemed like a fun event for a good cause and I completely fell in love with it.” Kim has always loved helping out and has been a team member for as long as anyone can remember. “My favorite thing about Mini-THON is definitely the cause and impact that Four Diamonds has.” 

National Art Honor Society (NAHS) co-president Olivia Mitchell speaks about her responsibilities as one of the leaders in the club and what the process was for the paint night. “At the Paint It Forward night we have 2 instructors from NAHS guide people step by step for a painting like at Muse Paintbar.” She talks about how her favorite thing about the club is the diversity and how unique students’ art is. “I truly loved to help people paint and watch them come together to help the community.” Mitchell shared the role of president of the club with junior Talula Black. 

Junior Sara Amer was one of the participants who attended the Paint It Forward event and she gives her opinion on it. “My favorite part was of course the painting, but I was told it raised a good amount of money too, so that made me feel like I was really making a difference.” Amer concluded by explaining that the experience was worth the money and that she would recommend it to other students and participants.  

                 Mini-THON and National Art Honor Society came together and helped out the community to raise money for the kids by doing a fun activity like painting. It is a great way to bring together everyone for a shared love of painting. Other events planned by NAHS are mural painting around the school, and Mini-THON is planning the turkey suit fundraiser where teachers who raise the most money get to wear a turkey suit. Be sure to come out to the events and be on the lookout for other Mini-THON and NAHS fundraisers.