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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
A charity Paint Night organized by two Walpole High seniors has been a success.
Fifty people attended the Paint Night, which was held on March 20 at Finnegan’s Wake in Walpole. In total, the Paint Night brought in $1,500, which will be donated to Limbs for Life, a non-profit organization that raises money to help pay for prosthetics for amputees.
The Paint Night was organized by Catherine Shivers and Samantha Chauvin, two Walpole High seniors who are passionate about the organization.
Limbs for Life is a cause that is important to Shivers. She became inspired to create her own charity, Catharine’s Cause, to raise money for the organization after her grandfather lost a limb to peripheral arterial disease.
When her grandfather lost a limb, it opened Shivers’ eyes to the challenges faced by amputees around the world. She realized she had to do something, and formed Catherine’s Cause in 2013 to help raise awareness and money for Limbs for Life.
“I started the fundraiser in tribute to [my grandfather,]” Shivers said. “I decided Limbs for Life, an organization that provides limbs for people without insurance would be the perfect organization to fundraiser for.”
When Shivers was researching the best way to raise money for Catherine’s Cause, she discovered the Paint Night, an organization that helps to plan and provide the resources for events featuring painting and socializing for charitable causes.
“A lot of people talk about Paint Night and how fun it is to participate in and therefore, instead of simply doing a raffle and setting up donation boxes around town, we wanted to do something where everyone could get together to embrace the cause,” Shivers said.
She began planning the Paint Night several months ago, working with Paint Night to find a venue to host the event, raise awareness about the event through publicity and flyers, and reached out to friends and family to attend.
While Shivers was initially nervous about reaching Paint Night’s 35-ticket minimum, it was not long before all 50 tickets were sold.
The Paint Night is one of several fundraisers Shivers has organized since starting Catherine’s Cause in 2013. She organized a successful Paint Night last year, and has also hosted raffles and fundraisers at Walpole Day in 2014.
Shivers noted that this is likely the last major fundraiser for Catherine’s Cause in the near future, as Shivers is preparing to graduate from Walpole High and begin the next chapter of her life by pursuing a college education.
She hopes to go to prosthetics school and bring the skills she learns to amputees in underprivileged countries. Shivers does hope to continue the work of Catherine’s Cause once she settles down and becomes accustom to college life.
