Youngstown Connection to perform in Lincoln Center

The group will also work with the Coalition for the Homeless in Manhattan.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Connection, the Youngstown city schools' song and dance troupe, will be in New York City on Thanksgiving weekend to perform at the Lincoln Center.
The group will perform Friday in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center as part of the America Sings National Choir, an ensemble that will include choirs from Denver; Anaheim, Calif.; and Fairbanks, Alaska.
The combined choir will perform six pieces.
But performing in one of the most prestigious performance halls in the world won't be the only thing the students will be doing in Manhattan.
The Youngstown Connection members will serve in the soup kitchen vans operated throughout Manhattan by the Coalition for the Homeless and will also provide toiletry kits for the homeless.
Public service is part of every Connection trip, said Dr. Carol Baird, director.
Funding
The troupe is sanctioned by the Youngstown city schools but isn't funded by the school district. The group raises its own money for travel, costumes and other expenses.
"The members in The Youngstown Connection, individually and as a group, serve as goodwill ambassadors for Youngstown city schools and the Mahoning Valley," Baird said. "Their message promotes peace and brotherhood throughout our community and the world."
The troupe has performed in 12 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades and with 54 America Sings festivals. It also has taken part in a post-911 ceremony at Fire Station 7 (Ground Zero) in Manhattan and was part of the Kennedy Center's 25th anniversary celebration.
Members taking part in the Nov. 25 trip are: David Deeter, Joshua Green, Maraiya Hakeem, Tamarah Harris, Asia Littlejohn, Tera Lobaugh, Craig Moton, Angela Wingrove and Malcolm Thomas.