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River Dell participates in Songs of Love program
For the past few years, members of the Tri-M Music Honors Society at River Dell Regional High School, chapter 4876, have been raising money for the foundation Songs of Love. Each song is specially individualized for each child, based on what style of music they enjoy and what sort of activities the child likes to do in his or her free time.
The Tri-M members decided that they wanted to raise money to have a song written for a child, as well as have the opportunity to record the song at River Dell High School. On April 17, 2012, the Tri-M members were able to have a miniature recording studio set up in the chorus room at River Dell and had the amazing opportunity to record a song.
The song that was to be recorded was going to be for a student that attends River Dell and is very active in the music program at River Dell: Paul Kennedy. Paul has an ailment that has been forcing him to miss a lot of school. It seemed like the perfect way to give back to him.
The experience was truly one of a kind. “Walking into the Chorus room with all the recording equipment set up, there was a nervous energy in everyone, but, once John Beltzer walked in with a huge smile on his face and explained exactly how and why he created Songs of Love, we all felt inspired and that we could truly make a difference,” said Tri-M Historian, Allison Friedlander.
“Recording the song was a blast and hearing it played back to us almost immediately afterwards was really cool,” Friedlander said. “Listening to it now, I feel great because I know that it meant a lot to Paul to get a song from all of his peers. The whole experience was really rewarding and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it.”
For the past four years the members worked hard by participating in coin drops, asking family members and friends for donations, and each contributing a personal donation to the cause.
Songs of Love is a non-profit organization that writes and records personalized songs for children who are battling medical, emotional, or physical issues. To this date, over 22,500 songs have been written for different children in all 50 states.
Visit www.songsoflove.org or call 1-800-960-SONG (7664) for more information.
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