MWAH! a highlight of Operation Snowball for Springfield area high schools
January 12, 2013
By JASON NEVEL - the State Journal-Register
Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register
Chatham Glenwood High school students Brooke Hembrough, 18, left, Mica Coleman, 17, center, and Mara Cunningham, 16, sing along to "Lean On Me," the final song by MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe during the Operation Snowball retreat at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School Saturday.
Abby Ralph said she's lucky. She has the support group she needs to ward off the temptations of drugs and alcohol as a high school senior.
Some of her peers at Sacred Heart-Griffin and other area high schools don't have that system, she said. That makes events like Operation Snowball, held at SHG's east campus this weekend, so important, she said."
It just means so much to me that our program is helping to influence all these other kids," said Ralph, a co-director of this year's Operation Snowball at SHG.
About 180 students attended the weekend retreat, which was designed to encourage teenagers to make drug-free positive life choices, as well as discourage bullying and violence.
Students — who came from SHG, Chatham, Rochester, Auburn, Williamsville, Southeast and Springfield high schools — were "locked in" at the school from 7 p.m. Friday to noon Sunday.
Denise Pachlhofer, SHG school prevention coordinator, said it is important to make students aware how bullying can affect people.
The event featured speakers and performances both days to reinforce that message. By Saturday, she said, it was easy to tell the message was getting through."
I saw a couple girls getting very emotional about some of the stories, so you can tell it really affects them," Pachlhofer said.
A performace by MWAH!, a teenage Chicago-based singing and motivational group, was one of the highlights of the retreat.
The group incorporated recent incidents of violence and bullying, such as the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the suicide of a 10-year-old girl from Ridge Farm, into their performance Saturday.
Rob Delgado, a 17-year-old performer in the group, said discussing actual events makes the message hit home more."
Bullying goes on in so many ways now, especially with social media," Delgado said. "We take those events and use them in our show, and it seems to make it more relatable to the students," he said.
Operation Snowball got its start in 1977 in Rockford, according to its website. The name comes from the idea that, when somebody does something positive, it snowballs into something bigger, Pachlhofer said. Jason Nevel can be reached at 217-788-1521.