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As I survey the report on this fundraiser, I can clearly see that among the greatest gifts given at Christmas are time, service, and encouragement.

I learned of the Anthony Kearns Music Fund in October, and Priscilla Horst patiently clarified for me the Fund's objectives and the pressing needs at the Bunclody school. She also impressed upon me Mr. Kearns' deep commitment to the vocal scholarship program. This fundraiser, as a community service project, was a perfect match for my students - an extraordinary group of 10th grade Honors/Gifted students, primarily in the performing arts, in Miami.

Many of these students are unable to afford private music lessons and instruments, art supplies, costumes, or even transportation to hard-won, out-of-state auditions after years of sacrifice and diligence in perfecting their craft. With college on the horizon, they are sensitive to the opportunities and challenges facing the AKMF scholarship recipients. I, too, grew up on borrowed instruments, pressed to the wall in someone else's private lessons. And I recognize the hope, and anxiety, in my students' eyes.

So I gave my kids a chance to combine the fundraising project with a curriculum objective of creating a technology-based presentation. They chose to prepare a video of their own artistic expressions, and made fundraising the threshold requirement for sharing in the video and earning the community service hours. A girls' octet sang in the courtyard before boarding the chorus bus to perform at Disney World. Young men discovered music-writing software and gave our dancers something to choreograph. During our "Twelve Days of Christmas" fundraising period, kids juggled extracurricular athletics, school clubs, and part-time jobs, plus performances within our arts academy - so our chorus was away when the orchestra was available, the dancers shared a stage with five uprights and a baby grand piano, and each day we tried to film in the garden our art students built, it rained! But we had so much fun and the momentum never faltered.

And the contributions rolled in - checks, crumpled bills, Ziplocs filled with coins. One young singer saved 1/3 of her chorus trip spending money just for the Music Fund. Unable to afford her own private teacher, she personifies the objectives of the Fund and the fundraiser. And how much more precious are the scholarships when purchased at so dear a price?

Ironically, the final performances fell victim to Christmas Break, but what the kids accomplished in 10 days - while raising $1,500 - is amazing. Perhaps the process was more valuable than the product. They broke boundaries by learning new software and transcription techniques, experimenting with choreography, even learning to use film-editing software. They now know to measure progress by seeing each step as victory, without losing sight of the goal. They exercised their creativity and developed time-management skills, flexibility and compromise.

And the principle exemplified by the 2003 Holiday Fundraiser, and illustrated by lighting the first holiday candle, is this: the smallest flicker of light overcomes darkness. Our small efforts, when combined, moved a mountain. Never say, "I can give only 15 minutes" or "it's only three dollars." Sing out, "Here's what I can offer" and "here's what I can accomplish today," and even better, "let's get together to work on this!"

We hope that our experience will inspire others. One pocketful of spare change at a time, we embraced the Fund's vision as our own, we identified fully with the diligence and the dreams of those other rising stars, and we hope to have touched a heart or two so far away in Ireland.

Julie Tatol
January 2004

Lavonne McClish surrounded by her favorite men, Dub (husband) and Anthony.
Lavonne won the "Arias for Tenors" book in the fundraiser "Off to the Opera".

At the end of the solo concert, in lieu of a bouquet of flowers,
Mark Beuligmann of Church of Christian Liberty presented
Anthony with a $250 check for the Music Fund.

Eamonn Mulhall

Anthony is delighted that
opera aficionado Berta Calechman
won the opera glasses.

Mairead Buicke

Click HERE to meet the 2004 Scholarship Recipients