How much joy can forty rocks, some paint, and a sweltering summer day give kids? Turns out, quite a bit.

As part of the Norristown Page Turners’ “Connecting to the Future” camp, local teen Saniyah is utilizing her hobby of rock painting to raise awareness for Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center. Saniyah, an aspiring artist and interior designer, is using her service project to explore her passions and the meaning of community in Norristown.

Like many teens her age, rising tenth grader Saniyah is an artist to the core. “I love art,” Saniyah stated. “It doesn't matter what type of art. It comes to my mind if I'm overthinking or anything like that.” In her own words, she “just be doing stuff” with her art. Recently, Saniyah received a rare opportunity to use her passion to help a population she is passionate about: kids.

During the “Connecting to the Future” camp, several organizations near Norristown visited the teens to explain their missions. During the visits, there was one that caught Saniyah’s attention. “I loved all the groups,” she explained, “but Mission Kids stuck out.” 

Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center is a nonprofit dedicated to serving abused youths. The nonprofit, founded in 2006, investigates child abuse cases and provides various resources to support children’s recovery process. For Saniyah, helping Mission Kids was a no-brainer. “I always had a thing for kids,” she stated. “For the kids in my family, I'm always willing to take them to the park or anything like that.” Saniyah has further personal reasons for choosing the nonprofit. “Kids don't know how to cope with that stuff [abuse],” she explained, “and I know people around me who have been in situations like that.”

So, with support from the camp, Saniyah held a community rock painting day on July 20th. As she explains, “We painted these rocks, so we could give them to the Mission Kids and so the kids can put these rocks outside and inside the building.” As for why she chose rocks as the medium, Saniyah states it’s one of her personal favorite art projects. “Me and my cousins would do it,” she explained. “She has these big pebbles where she lives, and we’ll just clean [and paint] them.”
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Displaying her painted purple pebble and laughing, Saniyah intends to share some joy with the community and those served by Mission Kids. “Hopefully,” she said, “when everyone gets done, they will feel like somebody cares, even though the rocks are not much.”

Though seemingly minor, community events like this hold significant meaning for Saniyah, particularly in Norristown. “Norristown has always been painted as a bad thing…my friend literally just passed from gun violence,” Saniyah said. “It's tough being down here because it's just too much violence and that's not something we should be growing up on. But for [community] events, like Juneteenth, everybody came together and it was just amazing to watch.”

For teens like her in Norristown, Saniyah urges all to find joy and take advantage when possible. “Being in Norristown, you don't get these opportunities,” she said. “When they come to you, just take it. It doesn’t matter what it is you're doing.”

Whether for youth abuse survivors, local kids, or fellow artists, Saniyah hopes to positively impact her community, one painted rock at a time.

Sidney Belleroche

NPT Summer Intern & Ursinus College student