A community rock painting event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Noel Dorwart Park, 408 Parklawn Court, Lancaster. The family event will begin at 3:30 p.m., and it will be open to the public and children of all ages.

Participants will meet at the picnic tables adjacent to the park's parking lot. Rocks, paint brushes, paint and other supplies will be provided by donation. After participants decorate their rocks, they will be invited to walk through the park's nature trail and place them along the route or take them home.

The event is being organized by Amanda Wallace, founder of nonprofit Manifesting Tranquility Inc. Wallace created Manifesting Tranquility in May with the goal of helping women who suffer from physical illnesses or mental difficulties such as anxiety and depression. "I felt called to open a nonprofit to branch out into the community," Wallace said. "I thought (this event) would be a great opportunity to bring people together and get out into nature."

Wallace's approach to promote physical and mental health is to address an individual's mind, body and spirit simultaneously. She decided to hold the rock painting event to allow people to benefit from an artistic outlet and physical exercise at the same time. Wallace also emphasized that being out in nature provides a plethora of benefits, such as getting a boost of vitamin D and serotonin. "When we're dealing with mental health, it's not just your brain," Wallace said. "It's the whole body and spirit. Nourishing them helps with these issues."

In June, she organized Manifesting Tranquility's first event: a mindfulness walk at Noel Dorwart Park, where participants were encouraged to connect with their surroundings as they strolled through nature. Although Manifesting Tranquility is still in its developing stage as a new nonprofit, Wallace has plans for future events at other locations.

Manifesting Tranquility will use the donations collected at the rock painting event for scholarships for women's athletics programs. The nonprofit will offer scholarships specifically for activities that align with its goal to promote harmony between mental and physical health. Wallace plans to offer financial assistance to allow women to participate in yoga and dance classes and train in martial arts. Wallace also hopes to offer online courses through Manifesting Tranquility in the future. "We want to offer events for women in the community to nourish themselves socially as well as spiritually," Wallace said. "This can be anything from group walks, meditation classes, and everything in between."

For more information, search for "Manifesting Tranquility" on Facebook.