Newtown High School senior Claire DiNoto is hoping to finish her high school career with a very successful fundraiser.

DiNoto is president and founder of NHS College Application Prep — or CAP — Club, a student-run club launched two years ago this month. It is the first scholarship foundation to be started by a student-run club at NHS, she said March 2.

Last year the club hosted multiple fundraising events, including bake sales and raffles, raising $1,000 for its inaugural scholarship.

This year DiNoto is hoping to beat that number, a few times over.

“This year we’re hoping to do two $2,500 scholarships,” she said. To do that, DiNoto is spearheading the Second Annual Behind the Scenes Scholarship. A silent art auction is being planned for Sunday, May 17. DiNoto has the location, the first piece of art, and even the first donation of hors d’oeuvres. Now she and the club are focusing on finding additional artists to donate works for the fundraiser.

The scholarships were inspired by the story of DiNoto’s mother and her family, who came from Cambodia.

“She and her family immigrated here when she was about seven,” DiNoto shared during a conversation on March 2 that covered the project and its mission. “Her older siblings were always going to work after school.” With many local scholarships focusing on athletics or merit, “or even if you’re going into a specific field of education,” she said, “I wanted to start something that would target the very student that my mother’s siblings were: someone that held an out-of-school responsibility.”

For that reason, NHS CAP scholarship applications purposely omit a student’s GPA and extracurricular activities.

“We just want them to name an initiative or a responsibility you’ve taken that contributes to your family or the community,” she said.

DiNoto will not be part of this year’s scholarship decision-making process. That responsibility is placed on the shoulders of juniors, she said. Club members are allowed to apply for the CAP Scholarship, but she will not be applying for her own scholarship, she noted.

Reconnecting And The Importance Of Networking

DiNoto is also a co-president of Newtown High School’s chapter of the National Honor Society. In October, members of that group volunteered with the co-chairs of Designer Bag Bingo, a fundraiser for Friends of Newtown Community Center. One of the co-chairs of that event was Meghan Rice, who DiNoto ran into at a subsequent event.

“Her event was so successful, so when I saw her I asked if she’d mind me asking her a few questions and it just took off from there,” DiNoto said. “She’s helped me connect with all these residents and she’s been amazing.”

One of the first things to come out of that networking was the promise from Kelly M. Urso to donate a work of art for 2026 Behind the Scenes. That donation is also thanks to Rice’s networking, according to Urso.

“Meghan’s helping to coordinate this and knew I did artwork,” Urso said March 11.

A resident of Newtown for over 25 years, Urso creates at her home in Sandy Hook which overlooks the Housatonic River. She uses watercolors to capture florals, animals, homes, and landscapes.

She also makes barn quilts, stained glass, rope baskets, and pottery, and does rock stacking and wood turning.

She was also The Newtown Bee’s holiday cover artist in 2025. Urso created a lush watercolor celebrating The Budd House on Main Street, the historic home where her parents have lived for decades. The painting depicted the grand building on a crisp Christmas Eve. The equally picturesque barn surrounded by gardens behind the home will be the setting for the May silent auction.

“My mom has that big barn and she’s always liked entertaining,” Urso said. The antique barn and its gardens have been host to public and private events including art shows, garden tours, and other special events for decades.

“Meghan was visiting my mom, and I was there, and Meghan started talking about Claire and her project. My mom volunteered the barn and I was happy to offer art.”

Urso said this week she may donate a second original painting for the scholarship fundraiser.

DiNoto is hoping to receive 25 pieces of art. Art & Frame has promised to help spread the word among its network, she said, and DiNoto has also been working with The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown.

She is hoping for myriad works — paintings, photographs, sculpture, etc. She and other organizers are asking for each work to be worth a minimum value of $250.

Hors d’oeuvres for May 17 are coming from Mexcla.

“My story actually resounded with” owner Mario Perez, DiNoto said, “because things were very similar with him and his family when he came to America. I honestly thought that was great.”

She is hoping to attract 100 attendees to the fundraiser, which will also have live music and soft drinks.

“I want it to be a nice upscale event,” she said. “My picture for it is to have everyone outside in the sun, enjoying the music and refreshments, and help us raise scholarship funds.”

Additional event details, including time and ticket prices, are still being confirmed.

To contribute art to the 2026 NHS CAP Behind the Scenes Scholarship fundraiser, contact Claire DiNoto at dinotoclaire16@gmail.com, message her on Facebook, or contact her through Instagram @NHSCapClub.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.