Nonprofit paints positive wall art in bathrooms at East Elementary in Humboldt, TCA

A nonprofit organization to empower girls, Heart of Whimsy, painted positive wall art with messages in three girls’ bathrooms at East Elementary in Humboldt, and a girls’, as well as a boys’, bathroom at Trinity Christian Academy in Jackson.

It’s something significant about a bathroom and a mirror that a girl is constantly looking into, Fran Thomas, one of the organization’s founders, said.

“The reflection is who you are,” Thomas said. “You go into a bathroom, you look at yourself in the mirror and you’re seeing a reflection of something. We’re hoping that these phrases in these bathrooms remind them of who they are.”

Started in 2013, the local and global organization was founded by Thomas, Christy Treadway and Robyn Newman to encourage, equip and empower girls in that if they know who they are in Christ, they are more likely to live a life in honor of him and will make a difference no matter where they are in life.

The group painted fun, short messages that speak to what girls are supposed to be doing in the school and, eventually, in the world, like “Throw kindness around like confetti" and to be kind, proud and yourself. 

“I think girls, all of us - myself included at the time, struggled with comparison and trying to figure out where we fit in and would go anywhere, be anybody and do anything just for the sake of fitting in,” Thomas said. “We need to know who we are — who God made us to be — so we aren’t trying to figure that out.

“If you don’t know who you are, then you're constantly looking toward the world to tell you who you are. And, that’s dangerous.”

Heart of Whimsy: its mission and the idea

Heart of Whimsy was born out of Thomas’, Treadway’s and Newman’s lives.

“We struggled with our identity,” Thomas said. “We really ran toward everything that the world had to say about who we were and who we’re supposed to be.”

As adults, they wanted to live the life God said they should, she said.

Every girl needs to know where they are in Christ, Thomas said.

Locally, the group advocates through social media and events for moms and daughters to speak at. The group usually goes on a mission trip to Kenya, reaching hundreds of girls, but didn’t this past summer.

Over the summer, on social media, Treadway posted a picture of bathrooms painted with encouraging messages to girls.

Jordan Fondren, the coordinated school health director for Humboldt City Schools, saw the post and suggested the group do the project at East Elementary in Humboldt.

The guidance counselor and principal at East wanted to get murals painted around the school to brighten the place up as well as encourage the students, Fondren said.

“I actually painted a mural on one of the walls at the end of the school year last year, so I knew they would love to have some things painted on the bathrooms,” she said.

Since the group didn’t do the mission trip, painting girls’ bathroom with positive messages became reality and the mission for Heart of Whimsy to do first at East Elementary in early August and then at Trinity Christian Academy in early September with the help of Kristi Tims, TCA lower school principal and K-12 academic coordinator, and Stephanie Sisk, TCA middle and high school art teacher.

Even though the organization is for girls, they painted a boys’ bathroom at TCA because boys need the same inspiration and to encourage others to volunteer their time.

“You can do this, too,” Thomas said. “You can do this at any school. It’s just time. People do have time to give.”

The group hopes to do a school in Jackson-Madison County School System as well.

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Lasherica Thornton is The Jackson Sun's education reporter. Reach her at 731-343-9133 or by email atlthornton@jacksonsun.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LashericaT