The National Art Honors Society will hold its first Paint-a-Thon Nov. 9. NAHS members will paint for 12 hours, creating a new mural outside the second-floor elevator. They will paint from six that evening to six the next morning. Although the event’s leaders acknowledge some foreseeable obstacles, its charitable goals are their motivation.
The Paint-a-Thon expenditures will be paid for by the participants’ friends and family. “They’re going to get sponsorships [or pledges] for their time that they work on murals, as a fundraiser for the group, and pay off the expense of the paint,” Ms. Laura Milas, club sponsor of NAHS, explained.
After costs have been repaid, the remainder of the profits will be donated to a charity. “This event is primarily a fundraiser to make art packages for the children of Children’s Memorial Hospital downtown, but along the way we are bringing students together to get creative and do what they love – paint,” Rutkauskas said.
Rutkauskas’s concern is raising enough money to both pay back the Paint-a-Thon supply expenses and still have enough money left over to donate to the hospital.
“I think getting enough pledge money will be the biggest challenge. I want the students to really reach out to people they know want to support the cause to pledge. I myself am going to get as many pledges as possible so I can be a good example for the students to look to on how they should gather sponsors,” Rutkauskas said.
The mural’s subject is being deliberated amongst NAHS members. “We are going to be designing a theme as a group, and we’ll be painting together. We’re working on concepts right now, but the group wanted to do something that is part visual and part quotation, so we’re working on collecting [quotes],” Milas said.
The club leaders have high hopes for the Paint-a-Thon, and they are confident that NAHS is doing its part to give back to the community. “Ms. Milas, my co-president Devon MacNeil, and I came up with the idea because we want NAHS to be a fun club that people are excited to say they belong to, and the fact that they are sharing their talents to raise money for children who are sick in the hospital,” Rutkauskas said.
