Every year, students walk around Sea King Park for the annual Painted Turtle Walk hosted by the National Honor Society (NHS).
This year on December 7, around 100 students showed up to help support and strengthen their community.
The Painted Turtle Walk is a fundraiser that’s in support of a camp designed for children with serious medical conditions “so they’re able to go and have that camp experience,” said NHS Advisor and English teacher Caroline Secrist.
Founded in 1999, the Painted Turtle is a program that PVHS NHS has supported for over 21 years.
The walk doesn’t only benefit the camp, but it also helps the PVHS community grow and bond together, additionally making it look more appealing to future freshmen.
Junior Ellie Correa said that when a high school gives back “to the community, it just helps and makes people want to come to our school… it benefits everybody in the process of walking.”
Many students enjoy the walk because it lets them get a good start to their morning. “It lets me start my day off with a bit of fun with my friends, while supporting a good cause,” junior Abigail Ledbetter said.
In order to make sure this walk goes smoothly year after year, a lot of preparation goes into the event, such as getting shirt sizes and finding sponsors.
On top of that, students are constantly finding ways to improve the event.
For example, this year NHS Vice-President senior Rayaan Jaffer said that “people could bring their dogs,” a new addition to the Painted Turtle Walk.
Though the Painted Turtle Walk has been around for a while, a few things have always remained the same.
In the end, it’s always been something that people show up for in order to show their support for this organization.