handout

For The Washington Post

Virginia Oliver

Two women from the shoulders up are back to back. The woman on the left wears a gray shirt and frowns. The background behind her is dark blue, and there are lines above her depicting stressful thoughts. The woman on the right wears a purple shirt and is smiling. The background behind her is yellow and there are sparkles around her head.

The Washington Post

inspired-life-positive-news

Respond to prefers-color-scheme dark in app web views

Follow section front redirects in Spectrum

Enable NLP source in PCS for load testing

Switch off the News Alerts Survey Widget when we have enough responses

Poll to determine if new LUF updates are available

Allows the winning A/B test variant to be turned on without Spectrum deployment

Show infinite scrolling sections in Assembler MultiView

Show option for NLP article summaries in Action Bar

Show NLP summaries collection recirc on article pages

A general feature flag for Recipe Features that aren't yet released

Feature flag for media team features that aren't yet released

Use new Orca video player for preroll plugin in Spectrum

Show the snow tracker (instead of the heat tracker) on Spectrum

Dog hit by car loses leg, is adopted by firefighter who helped her

Postal worker finds WWII-era letters, drives 5 hours to deliver them

Strangers help Sesame Street puppeteer after heirloom necklace was stolen

Think you want a dog? Take our quiz to find out if you’re ready.

In Photos: Russians mark 79th Victory Day with military parade

Tornadoes hit Michigan, damage FedEx facility

Hack targeting hospital chain Ascension is impacting patient care

A college professor wants to use Section 230 against Big Tech

Commerce Department revokes more export licenses to China’s Huawei

Ask Amy: Relatives keep giving me updates on my old family home

Ask Sahaj: My husband wants me to forget all about his emotional affair

Carolyn Hax: Was it wrong to approach late wife’s pal for no-commitment sex?

Protesters descend on Eurovision, object to Israel’s participation

Emboldened Russia marks Victory Day with parade of nuclear-capable weapons

Deaf baby hears for the first time after ‘groundbreaking’ gene therapy trial

What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign

Judge keeps tying Trump to possible intimidation

What extremism looks like to Sean Hannity and his party

In Arizona, election workers trained with deepfakes to prepare for 2024

How Trump’s allies amplify his Truth Social messages to the wider world

Indy Star bars columnist from Caitlin Clark’s games after awkward exchange

Need beauty? These are 7 of the most gorgeous gardens in the D.C. area.

Nationals finally run out of answers and fall to Orioles in 12 innings

4 best things to do with kids in the D.C. area this weekend

RFK Jr’s ‘history lesson’ on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine flunks the fact test

The Trump-Biden battle over the 2017 tax cut

That time football legend, rig-driving eligible bachelor Biden was arrested

5 big travel lessons from a Patagonia CEO-turned-conservationist

Cruise worker accused of stabbing 3 with scissors arrested in Alaska

France tries to shed its rude reputation ahead of the Olympics

In the campaign against Donald Trump, do the ends justify the means?

The next global crisis could come from the sun. We should prepare now.

The FTC’s noncompete clause rule goes too far

US-POLITICS-BIDEN

Arsh Pal had bold ambitions when he started selling his artwork at age 8: He wanted to raise $1,000 for charity.

Four years later, he has far surpassed his goal. Arsh, now 12, has sold hundreds of his acrylic and watercolor paintings, the proceeds of which have totaled more than $15,000. Apart from a small portion he takes to buy supplies, every dollar has gone to charities that support children.

“Young people have the power to change the world,” Arsh said from his home in Dubuque, Iowa, which is also his art studio.

Arsh has always been artistically inclined, his mother said. When he was a young boy, Divya Pal and her husband, Sanjeev, signed their son up for extracurricular activities such as piano, karate and gymnastics, but “he would lean toward art,” Pal said.

For his eighth birthday present, the Pals bought a watercolor set for Arsh. He spent all his spare time in front of an easel.

“That’s how I started painting,” he said.

Soon, a stack of completed canvases began piling up, “so I decided to give them away to friends and family,” said Arsh, adding that he also displayed some pieces at his school, which people asked to buy.

Around the same time, Arsh was frequently visiting a local nursing home, where his mother works as an occupational therapist. Spending time there inspired him to start selling his art for a good cause.

Defying odds, quadriplegic woman in Virginia has twins

“Just by talking to the residents and the people there, it just made them smile and that really made me smile at the same time,” he said. “That thought made me want to help people in need through my paintings.”

And so began his fundraising initiative, which he called “Art by Arsh.” He sells his paintings at local art shows, restaurants and libraries, as well as on his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/artbyarsh/?hl=en">Instagram account</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/artbyarsh/">Facebook page.</a>

He donated his first $1,000 to <a href="https://www.stjude.org/">St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital</a> in 2018, and has since expanded his reach to support various other charities, including <a href="https://www.easterseals.com/" target=_blank>Easterseals</a>, <a href="https://www.compasstocare.org/" target=_blank>Compass to Care</a>, the <a href="https://riverviewcenter.org/" target=_blank>Riverview Center </a>and the<a href="https://wish.org/" target=_blank> Make-A-Wish Foundation.</a>

Arsh mainly contributes to child-focused organizations, he said, because “I wanted to help kids.”

Although he stopped counting long ago, Arsh said he estimates that he has sold about 500 paintings in the past four years.

Divya Pal

The price of his work, he explained, ranges based on size and complexity. For instance, small pieces have sold for $10, while larger paintings — which can reach five feet — have sold for $800. He auctioned two pieces at a charity event last fall for a total of $10,000.

“That is very impressive,” said Pal, adding that she and her husband are blown away by their son’s commitment to the project. “He is doing amazing work. When he started doing all of this, we never thought it was going to go in this direction.”

This woman bakes recipes she finds on gravestone epitaphs: ‘They’re to die for’

Arsh mainly uses acrylic paint to produce his art, but he also works with watercolor and mixed media. He particularly enjoys crafting abstract pieces.

“You can express yourself through abstract art,” he said. “Everybody thinks differently about it.”

Arsh now mostly makes commissioned pieces, and several of his customers have come back wanting more.

That includes his neighbor, Jolene Schaver, who has five of Arsh’s creations hanging in her home and has purchased many more for friends and family.

“I can’t stress enough how amazing he is,” said Schaver, who is retired and lives next-door with her husband, and has known the Pal family for seven years. “I was amazed at how talented he was at such a young age, without any formal training.”

Plus, she added, “he has such a generous and giving heart.”

Arsh’s artwork is scattered around their home, and Schaver’s favorite piece is a silhouette of two elephants, which is on display in her dining room.

“I would never know that it was done by a child,” she said.

Arsh aims to be detail-oriented in his art, and larger pieces can take a month or more to complete. Although Arsh never took art lessons as a child, “my mom helped me,” he said. “She’s probably my main teacher. Me and her learn techniques together. She just helps me get better.”

Pal and her husband also manage the logistical elements of Arsh’s initiative. They coordinate with customers, deal with shipping and supplies, and ensure all the funds go to charities of Arsh’s choice.

“It’s teamwork, but it’s all worth it,” Pal said. “We want to support him, especially if it’s helping someone.”

Family photo 

“He has never asked us if he can keep the money,” she continued, adding that Arsh has been asked by his peers why he doesn’t buy himself some expensive new gadgets and toys with his hard-earned funds. “He is not getting impacted by what others are saying, he’s impacting others with what he’s doing.”

He has earned several accolades for his community service, <a href="https://diana-award.org.uk/pages/roh-2022-o-q/">including the Diana Award</a> in 2022 — which is presented annually to a group of young people around the world for their humanitarian work.

The organizations that he has supported are grateful for his contributions, too.

“I’m always so encouraged to see the enthusiasm of a kid wanting to do what they can to help out other kids in need,” said <a href="https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stjude.org%2Fdirectory%2Fs%2Frichard-c-shadyac.html&data=05%7C01%7CJulia.DiGeronimo%40alsac.stjude.org%7C811fe7f6087d4f31e0a908dab84ab442%7C62a96f9aa5614bfba97870a73a08dc02%7C0%7C0%7C638024928228817457%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=CBsnx2g7x%2F83qyRR1qU1IyS1D3w9qKyQk8XF3DoIzBQ%3D&reserved=0">Richard C. Shadyac Jr.</a>, president and chief executive of <a href="https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stjude.org%2Fabout-st-jude%2Ffaq%2Fwhats-alsac.html&data=05%7C01%7CJulia.DiGeronimo%40alsac.stjude.org%7C811fe7f6087d4f31e0a908dab84ab442%7C62a96f9aa5614bfba97870a73a08dc02%7C0%7C0%7C638024928228973701%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xA8KJB7lVbA9rn4YI8V6uGRj5Ur7q5v96ZMM39iw0Xw%3D&reserved=0">ALSAC</a>, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. “Kids like Arsh help raise funds that ensure families <a href="https://www.stjude.org/legal/financial-assistance-statement.html#:~:text=All%20patients%20accepted%20for%20St,patients%20do%20not%20receive%20bills." target=_blank>never receive a bill</a> from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live.”

“By channeling his generosity through his creativity, it’s even more meaningful to us because art therapy is part of the holistic treatment offered at St. Jude and helps inspire and warm the hearts of so many of St. Jude patients,” he said.

For the first time in 6,000 years, a bison is born in the wild in the U.K.

Along with selling his paintings to benefit nonprofit groups, Arsh also teaches art lessons at Stonehill Communities — the nursing home where Pal has worked for nine years. His younger brother, Yuvan, 7, assists with instructing the classes, which are held several times a year.

“They’re always excited when I come teach them,” said Arsh, who has also volunteered at other nursing homes to teach art lessons.

“It just touches my heart,” said Pal, adding that the nursing home residents regularly inquire about her sons, and look forward to their visits. “He’s a kid, and he’s inspiring adults.”

Arsh’s lessons have made him think about accessibility, and how not all people have the resources to make art — which has the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/">capacity to comfort and heal</a>.

“One of my future goals is to make art accessible for kids who want to express themselves,” Arsh said.

He has already started offering free art lessons to local children, and he hopes to expand his classes further in the future, including on his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY7nkVOPERE">YouTube channel</a>.

“I want to help the community and spread kindness,” he said.

McGill University, BA

Columbia University, MS in journalism 

Sydney Page is a staff reporter who writes for The Washington Post’s Inspired Life section, a collection of stories about humanity. She has been a contributor to The Post since 2018.