National Honor Society (NHS) held its movie event Winter Warriorland in the small gym on Saturday, Dec. 16. The event included concessions, performances of several Christmas songs by band students, and a showing of the movie Elf.

Winter Warriorland was a part of NHS’ Thirst Project week, in which the organization used several different ways throughout the week to fundraise money. The end goal was to use these funds to help build wells in Africa.

“In the United States and a lot of first world countries, we take water for granted,” Ella Concannon ‘18 said. “We just have such easy access to water and a lot of countries don’t have this benefit. Some people have to walk five miles just to get clean water and the Thirst Project gives these people a well so they don’t have to.”

This is the first time NHS has held this event; this is also the first year that there will be two Thirst Project weeks instead of just one. With the new Thirst Project week in the first semester, NHS decided to also make things a little bit different by hosting Winter Warriorland.

“It’s around Christmas time, so we decided to make it winter themed and watch the Elf movie to get everyone excited for break excited for Thirst Project,” Food Bank Director Nicole Francese ‘18 said.

Like with every time something new is tried, the event faced several problems, such as the turnout not being as high as expected.

“We still have a chance to do something next semester,” Francese said. “We tried the movie idea this time, but next time we might do something that involves the community more, and also promote more so that everybody knows about the event and what the Thirst Project is all about.”

Although the attendance wasn’t as anticipated, it was still an enjoyable experience.

“There’s not too many people here, but that’s okay,” Erica Martinez ‘18 said. “Everyone who is here is having a really good time, and that’s what matters.”

In the end, Winter Warriorland was not only a fun event for those who came, but also simultaneously helped contribute to achieving its its original purpose: to help raise money for those in need.

“Sometimes we don’t take into account that people in other countries may not have the same luxuries we have, so it’s nice to be able to support a cause that helps that,” Sarah Romanko ‘18 said. “This event helps raise money and whatever money they have they can help contribute. It’s really great because we’re able to spend time here tonight knowing we’re here helping someone else.”