Boston Marathon and Sandy Hook
a focus by MWAH! in Bensenville
Chicago Tribune
Trib Local - Elmhurst edition
May 2, 2013
By Ray Moffitt, Community Contributor
MWAH! troupe members outside the main entrance to Blackhawk Middle School in
Bensenville, Illinois following their presentation on May 6, 2013
(photo by
Jeremy Reed of Impact Life Photography)
The Boston Marathon bombing in April, the Sandy Hook school massacre in December, and the separate efforts by two suburban families to prevent the types of grief that have beset them will be highlighted by the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe on Monday, May 6 in a special presentation at Blackhawk Middle School in west suburban Bensenville.
The 90-minute presentation will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the school, located at 250 South Church Road in Bensenville.
Participating with the troupe will be Mike Elkins, Executive Director of the Cebrin Goodman Center in Skokie, who will focus on efforts that he and his family are making to stem the tide of an uptick of alcohol and other drug abuse throughout Illinois. These efforts are in memory of his cousin, for whom this Center and its parent foundation are named, from a heroin overdose at the age of 23 about 11 years ago.
Also participating will be Heather Briscolino, from Rolling Meadows, who will focus on a thoughtless moment nearly two years ago when her teenage son, Quinn Dombrow, and his best friend, Dustin Frazier, died while speeding over that is known as 'Thrill Hill' – on a country road near Galesburg in western Illinois. In memory of her son, she and her sister are finalizing plans for the Second Annual Quinn Classic Bean Bag Tournament Benefit in Naperville this August as a living memorial to her son and his friend with all proceeds designated for destructive decisions awareness programs for teenagers.
Other focuses on Monday will include the tragic consequences of bullying, with references to the suicides of a 10-year-old girl from near Danville, Illinois and a 14-year-old gay boy from New York; the issue of child abuse with references to the abuse at Penn State University, within the Boy Scouts of America, and within Maine West and West Aurora high schools in Illinois; and the issue of divorce from the perspective of a seventh grade MWAH! troupe member who's attempting to cope with an on-going custody battle between her parents.
To be recognized as heroes will be six Blackhawk Middle School students who have demonstrated leadership, dedication, and courage in coping with some personal challenges.
The essence of the 14-member MWAH! ensemble - an acronym for Messages Which Are Hopeful! - is real life drama combined with contemporary music and lots of audience interaction.
A key objective on Monday will be to cause the Blackhawk students and staff to think about the true life and death messages being presented by peers and then to relate these messages to themselves and their own families.
In a rousing finale, about 20 Blackhawk students will join MWAH! troupe members in a choreographed hip hop dance finale, having rehearsed together earlier on Monday morning.
Current members of the MWAH! troupe range in age from 12 to 19, and they live in nine cities and towns throughout the western suburbs of Chicago as well as in Rockford and in north-central Illlinois.
The not-for-profit troupe is affiliated with Kids Do Count, Inc. and the Chicago Area Project, a grass-roots service and advocacy program based in downtown Chicago and part of an Illinois-wide community services network targeting at-risk youth and their families.
Arranging for the troupe's appearance in Bensenville has been the Blackhawk Middle School principal, Tarah Fowler, who may be contacted at 630-766-2601.
Further information about the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe is available on its website at www.mwah.net.