"Put your hands together and join the ROCcK Choir

Watch your spirit soar so much higher.

Listen with your heart the message is clear

Thanks to all we're glad to be here."

-- Brenda Rider

From "Rappin' R.O.C.c.K." in The "Gift" of Giving (March 2006),
page 13.

Poster of cover on the Choir's
music CD released September 2007.

Choir photo courtesy
Robert Senn Studio Photography

ROCck Childrens Choir performs musical expressions of survival from and for children coping with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

About the R.O.C.c.K. Children's Choir
There are as many treatments for cancer as there are cancers. One type of treatment is music and another is poetry. The A Way With Words Foundation, Inc. uses music, poetry, and art to help those touched by cancer to survive and to cope with the outcome. The reason the choir performs is to prove there is life after cancer for a child or adult. There are so many talented people touched by cancer who have a way with words --- the choir is one of their voices. Founder Brenda Rider offers this insight: "These children are not necessarily musicians --- they are only children with a love for music and whose lives have known cancer. The sound of this choir is excellent, but when you listen with your heart, they take your breath away."

R.O.C.c.K. means Raising Our Commitment to cancer Kids. The choir is comprised of survivors, relatives, and those touched by cancer. Members of the choir are usually between the ages of 3 to 17. The children join the Choir to help others heal, not only from cancer, but from the emotional strain the disease puts on the patients and family members. As members of the choir, the children gain compassion and strength, which they demonstrate in their everyday lives. The compassion they develop helps them grow into caring adults.

The R.O.C.c.K. Children's Choir is sponsored by the A Way With Words Foundation, Inc. and the money raised by the Foundation makes it possible for the choir to spread their message and share joy with the community. Funds are also used to raise cancer awareness, assist local programs, and of course, support cancer research.

Founded 2002 by Brenda Rider, Janeen Williams and Paul Skowron,
the R.O.C.c.K. Choir performs by invitation only at Relay for Life events, church functions, meetings and other charitable fund raisers. The Choir performs on an average of 40 events a year. On the days schools are closed for holidays, the Ursuline High School Choir joins the Choir to perform with them at local cancer centers, hospices, nursing homes and rehab centers. All the songs the choir performs are original from survivors and talented musicians in the area. The music is age appropriate and inspiring to all who listens. FAB Limousines and Tours has been gracious enough to give the Choir a "ROCcK Bottom" rate so all the kids can travel safely.

Those interested in donating talent, money, or other gifts can contact us at (330) 538-7000. Also contact us if you wish a video of the Choir performing, or would like to purchase one of their CDs or books.

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How the R.O.C.c.K. Children's Choir Started
Paul Skowron, Janeen Williams, and I collaborated on a song for the children of Tod's Children's Hospital (Youngstown, Ohio) to record. This first group of children became the R.O.C.c.K. (Raising Our Commitment for cancer Kids) Choir. The choir is comprised of patients, siblings, survivors, and friends. Together they became the ambassadors of the "Relay the Message" music CD Project launched in May 2004.

From the book There's Hope In What We Do, compiled and edited by Brenda M. Rider, published 2004 and 2005 by Philip D. Baden.

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Join the R.O.C.c.K. Children's Choir
Would you like to become a member of the R.O.C.c.K Children's Choir? Are you around the ages of 4 through 17?

Do you like to sing (voices of all talents welcomed)?

Do you like to make people smile?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have what we are looking for in a member!!

Would you like to learn how to start a choir in your community?

Talk to your parents and then give Brenda Rider a call at (330) 538-7000 or send an email to us at Awaywithwords04@aol.com today!

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Elissa Matthews, drew this "Flower of Hope" when she was 5 years old and a member of the R.O.C.c.K. Children's Choir. The drawing was published in the book The "Gift" of Giving (March 2006), page 35. Elissa also wrote the poem, "The Rocck Choir", on page 11.

Awards Received by the R.O.C.c.K. Children's Choir
Outstanding Youth Philanthropists, 2003
presented by Association of Fundraising Professionals of the Mahoning and Shenango Valley

Heroes of the Valley, 2007
presented by American Red Cross

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