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Kids choir marks 10th year
YOUNGSTOWN
The R.O.C.c.K. Children’s Choir, celebrating its 10th year of volunteer service singing to help cancer patients of all ages, will be on the Powers Auditorium stage tonight with country-music artists Billy Dean and Sarah Turner.
The choir will be raising money for its Kids Helping Kids tour to Washington, D.C.
The R.O.C.c.K. Choir — the lowercase “c” is a symbolic way to make cancer a small part of the kids’ life later on — was founded in 2002 at Tod Children’s Hospital by Brenda Rider, herself a breast-cancer survivor.
The choir, sponsored by the A Way With Words Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has averaged 24 members over its 10 years of existence, ranging from age 3 to 17-plus. The kids’ singing ability ranges from the potential to sing opera to those who can’t carry a tune in a basket, Rider said with a laugh.
But it’s not all singing and light.
“Since 2002, we have lost three choir members to cancer — I think God wanted his own choir closer to him. But, we’ve also graduated four members on to college and six more into responsible, compassionate adults,” she said.
The R.O.C.c.K. Choir includes children with cancer, children with siblings and other family members with cancer and children of those who are touched by cancer.
Over the decade, the choir has performed at some 2,500 events such as American Cancer Society Relay for Life events in Northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. It was the first amateur choir invited to The Victory Junction Gang Camp in North Carolina, said Rider, of Austintown.
The Victory Junction Gang Camp is one of the nationwide network of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses, started by actor Paul Newman.
The choir has helped “Wigs For Kids,” Epilepsy Society, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Bears for Kids Child adoption programs, and many other smaller groups.
“We were honored to sing the national anthem at a Scrappers game at Eastwood Field in Niles, a Phantoms’ hockey game and at the Sharon Speedway for special events,” said Rider, a Youngstown Municipal Court bailiff.
All of the songs the choir performs are written by local musicians who donate the songs for the kids.
Rider, who has written many of the songs the choir sings, also has co- written a song with Billy Dean, “Sand in the Chevy,” which he recorded. She describes it as a “cute little love song.”
Every year, the choir takes a few days of school break to visit nursing homes, cancer centers and hospice centers.
“This year in April, we are planning to visit Washington, D.C., to learn about our history and inspire others to what a group of cancer-kids can do,” Rider said.
To do that, the choir needs financial help.
The “Kids Helping Kids” tour in April will cost $3,700 to charter a bus and $2,250 for lodging bringing the total cost to $5,950. All food and extras are the responsibility of the choir and their parents/grandparents, Rider said.
Profits from the Billy Dean concert will go toward the Washington, D.C., trip.
Anyone who wants to donate to the choir can send a check or money order to the A Way With Words Foundation, P.O. Box 2334, Youngstown, OH 44509, and write R.O.C.c.K. Choir in the memo line.
“There are many reasons to help a child, but nothing is as rewarding as watching a child feel control in a disease that takes all the control. Children have such an innocence about the battle they face, yet they manage to be happy and carry the weight of the sadness alone. They‘ve taught so many to listen with their heart. The voices of angels can be heard, and together, we will make a difference,” Rider said.