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A Sing-ular Opportunity
Children’s choirs looking for volunteers
By Lisa Schaffner
Photos by Matt Stanton
I have a big surprise for you this time. A local group is looking for not just a volunteer or two volunteers but for an entire volunteer audience! If you’ve ever shied away from volunteering because you wanted a group experience rather than doing it alone, your time is here.
City Singers Children’s Choirs bring together children of all economic and ethnic backgrounds and expose them to quality music education, as well as teamwork and leadership. “They learn sight reading. They learn how to sing, how to become musicians,” says Diane Campbell, City Singers board president. “We teach them a love of music they will take with them through their lives. We also hope at the same time it develops character to help them become caring and community-minded people through music.”
Campbell also wears a second hat: mother. Her daughter sang with City Singers for six years, as have many children of board members and volunteers
Two choirs make up City Singers. The younger choir is composed of children in second through fifth grades; the older choir has 30 kids in sixth through 12th grades. Leslie Dripps and Andrea Spackman are choir directors.
Singers read music, play instruments and perform solos. The material is classical, high-caliber choral music written for children.
During the school year, the kids practice once a week. That’s where the volunteers come in. Campbell tells me, “We are always looking for people who can work with the kids and help out at rehearsals. And we’re always looking for new audiences! We try to experiment with new things. We recently had a concert in Chesterfield at a community retirement center, where our kids met there, performed and then did holiday crafts with the residents.”
 SMALL AND LARGE GIGS
City Singers Children’s Choirs also like the big gigs too. The children performed at The Diamond last year for the opening Sunday game of the Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball team and at the Richmond Coliseum for a 2010 Richmond Raiders arena football game.
To become a choir member, kids audition. In fact, the audition cycle starts now, in April. Once kids are chosen, they stay with City Singers until they graduate from high school, Campbell explains. There is a summer choir camp in August, weekly practice on Tuesdays from September through May, and performances throughout the year.
City Singers was among our first group of Ruth’s Chris Giving Back award winners, for organizations that need a helping hand.
(For more, see theboomermagazine.com/ruthschris.) That’s how I learned about the group and had the opportunity to recently meet several of the choir members.
To become a volunteer, check out the website CitySingersChoir.org.
You’ll also find videos of recent performances and information about auditions and how to support a singer.
MDA SUMMER CAMP
A nonprofit I’ve supported since arriving in Richmond in 1986 is the Muscular Dystrophy Association. MDA provides education and specialized care to families who are battling one of 43 neuromuscular diseases. Among that assistance is the Muscular Dystrophy Summer Camp.
Boomer reader Wesley Taylor reminded me about the need for MDA camp volunteers, so I called our good friends at the Richmond MDA office to get details for you.
MDA Summer Camp 2011 is June 11-17 in Wakefield and is open to kids 6 to 17 years old who have muscular dystrophy. Approximately 50 campers will attend this year, according to Ashley Mauck, health-care service coordinator at the Richmond MDA office. That means MDA needs 50 volunteer counselors.
Each counselor is paired with one camper for the week, helping the camper with everything from eating to playing and even bathing. Whatever the camper’s need, the volunteer is there. “I tell everyone it’s the hardest, most rewarding week of the summer. They’ll be exhausted but exhilarated,” Mauck said.
Counselors and campers bunk together, sleeping in camp-style dorms at the 4-H Center in Wakefield. Activities include swimming, fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, and arts and crafts. Campers have varying ability levels, with just half being mobile. That’s why the counselor/camper pairings are so critical.
Mauck says many of the relationships built during the week are lifelong. “There are more tears when counselors leave at the end of the week than when they arrive. That’s how you know you’ve had a great week.”
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old and commit to the entire camp week. The first day of camp is set aside as a counselor training day. Additional counselor requirements: You need to fill out an application, complete an in-person interview and consent to a background check.
If you’re interested, contact Ashley Mauck at 804-285-2961 or
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I hope to see you in June in Wakefield!
Lisa Schaffner, a former WRIC-TV anchor, is public relations and marketing director for UNOS. Contact her at
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