Valentine’s Day may consist of candy hearts and secret admirers, but at RM, it’s also a crucial time for clubs to solicit donations. Clubs undertake various fundraisers including baking treats and selling cards and trinkets.

Founded by junior Aariana Rao, the Thoughtful Treasures Club turns Valentine’s Day sweetness into real impact. This year, the club hosted a special Valentine’s Day bake sale fundraiser to support the Children’s Inn at NIH. “They [The Children’s Inn] provide a place like home for patients receiving treatment at the NIH Clinical Center, giving them resources like food and housing,” Rao said.

The fundraiser took place on main street, where students who donated enjoyed a homemade sweet treat made by one of the club members. “If somebody makes a donation to our fundraiser, then they can get free baked goods in return.” Rao said. “The fundraiser is about sharing love and sharing kindness with other people, which is what Valentine’s Day is also about.”

What makes this fundraiser unlike others is that it is able to encourage students to think about love on a deeper level and support others that they don’t know personally. “Even though you aren’t directly interacting with [the patients], you’re still giving back to them out of the goodness in your heart,” Rao said.

However, planning this event wasn’t easy for Rao. “One obstacle that we faced was the logistics of having this fundraiser because we’re not necessarily selling the baked goods,” Rao said. She explained this was because they are offering the baked goods as a “thank you gift” for students who donated to the cause instead of directly selling them—this is due to restrictions on club fundraising put in place in recent years.

Ultimately, The Thoughtful Treasures Valentine’s Day fundraiser is about a community working together and realizing their ability to create change. “Even though we aren’t adults yet, we can still have an impact, we can still do things that are beneficial to the community,” Rao said. The club is not only raising funds for the NIH, but also helping students understand the importance of giving back, not just during the holidays, but all year around.

Clubs don’t only host Valentine’s day fundraisers for external causes. For many clubs, these fundraisers are an integral part of funding for the rest of the year. The National Art Honors Society is one of them. This year, like always, they hosted their annual Valentine’s day card sale, selling greeting cards and cards to pair with a gift. “Valentine’s Day [is] centered on the Valentine’s Day aesthetic with the hearts and so they’re what you would imagine regular cards to look like, just handmade by students,” senior Kim Lee, the president of the National Art Honor Society, said. “We provide all the materials, and we have everyone sit around, you can talk with your friends while you make cards.”

NAHS members participate in painting murals, exploring different mediums and community painting projects. “If we want to fund any projects, we’re able to allocate our budgets that we raised from the fundraiser to help with those initiatives as well,” Lee said. “Contributing to these fundraisers helps a lot of these clubs that require some fee to become a member to lessen that burden for students.”

To the Peer Writing Center president Chelsea Zhu, the annual stuffed animal Valentine’s day sale is an opportunity to support the club’s work and symbolizes the RM community’s strong bonds. The Writing Center’s fundraiser took place on main street, and they accepted cash to either buy the stuffed animal or have it delivered to a classroom. “We typically try to sell many different types of animals. That way, students have full freedom of what they want to choose,” Zhu said. As the main fundraiser that the Peer Writing Center hosts every year, they use the money as one way to help fund the club’s operational costs like snacks and supplies. Both are important to the club’s overall goal to give writing help and advice to students who need it.

Because of its importance, members of the Writing Center have been diligently preparing for the event. “We prepare around lunch and after school a few weeks before the fundraiser, and so students help oversee the whole process,” Zhu said. This process includes tagging, packing and sending the stuffed animals, keeping track of inventory and ensuring that they follow the rules of the financial office.

But the event isn’t only about raising money. “[The fundraiser] is usually an exchange of Valentine’s Day friendship and love, and that sort of gesture is something we’re hoping to spread around the community,” Zhu said. “It’s a gesture of friendship and love, because a lot of the stuffed animals that students buy are for another person.”