25th-annual Quad Cities Youth Conference at the RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa

MWAH! Headlines Quad Cities Youth Conference January 24-25 at the RiverCenter

Written by Ray Moffitt

The keynote presentation for the 25th-annual Quad Cities Youth Conference at the RiverCenter in Davenport on January 24 and 25 will be the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, an acronym for Messages Which Are Hopeful.

At its third appearance at this conference in the past nine years, the issues-oriented ensemble will combine real-life drama with contemporary music and audience interaction. An overall focus is what's happening with today's youth and their families, and a common thread is the importance of making the right choices. Current MWAH! troupe members range in age from nine to 19 and live in 11 cities and towns in the western suburbs of Chicago and across northern Illinois.

Its RiverCenter appearance will be the troupe's second visit to the Quad Cities in two months.

On November 22, its audience was about 500 students from grades six through eight at Smart Intermediate School. (Photos from this performance are by Teresa Ousley of Wiz of Oz Photography in Rock Island.)

Copyright 2010 The Quad-City Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

The Quad Cities Youth Conference, featuring various workshops and speakers that target issues relevant to youth, is expected to draw high-school and middle-school or junior-high students from roughly 25 schools throughout the Quad Cities area.

The overall mission of the conference is to provide youth with the opportunity to enhance those decision-making skills necessary for living in a socially complex world and to establish contacts with key community resources.

Coordinating the MWAH! troupe's appearance is committee member and past co-chair Gail Jackson of the Moline School District.

Further information on the troupe is available at MWAH.net. The not-for-profit ensemble can also be reached by phone at (630)993-0003. It's affiliated with Kids Do Count, Inc., and the Chicago Area Project, a grassroots service and advocacy agency based in downtown Chicago and part of an Illinois-wide community-services network targeting at-risk youth and their families.

For more information about MWAH! or to book an event, call Moffitt at 630-993-0003, or visit the website MWAH! page.

A story about the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe as published November 30, 2010 in the media website edition of River Cities' Reader, a bi-weekly newspaper covering the arts, business, culture, and politics of the Quad Cities, a geographic region of the Mid-Mississippi Valley of the United States including the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois and the surrounding communities of four counties - Scott in Iowa and Rock Island, Mercer, and Henry in Illinois. The total population of the Quad Cities in 2009 was 379,066. The Reader's managing editor is Jeff Ignatius.
The photos are by Teresa Ousley of the award-winning Wiz of Oz Photography Studio.

River Cities' Reader November 30, 2010

	MWAH! Headlines Quad Cities Youth Conference January 24-25 at the RiverCenter Written by Ray Moffitt The keynote presentation for the 25th-annual Quad Cities Youth Conference at the RiverCenter in Davenport on January 24 and 25 will be the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, an acronym for Messages Which Are Hopeful. At its third appearance at this conference in the past nine years, the issues-oriented ensemble will combine real-life drama with contemporary music and audience interaction. An overall focus is what's happening with today's youth and their families, and a common thread is the importance of making the right choices. Current MWAH! troupe members range in age from nine to 19 and live in 11 cities and towns in the western suburbs of Chicago and across northern Illinois. Its RiverCenter appearance will be the troupe's second visit to the Quad Cities in two months. On November 22, its audience was about 500 students from grades six through eight at Smart Intermediate School. (Photos from this performance are by Teresa Ousley of Wiz of Oz Photography in Rock Island.) Copyright 2010 The Quad-City Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The Quad Cities Youth Conference, featuring various workshops and speakers that target issues relevant to youth, is expected to draw high-school and middle-school or junior-high students from roughly 25 schools throughout the Quad Cities area. The overall mission of the conference is to provide youth with the opportunity to enhance those decision-making skills necessary for living in a socially complex world and to establish contacts with key community resources. Coordinating the MWAH! troupe's appearance is committee member and past co-chair Gail Jackson of the Moline School District. Further information on the troupe is available at MWAH.net. The not-for-profit ensemble can also be reached by phone at (630)993-0003. It's affiliated with Kids Do Count, Inc., and the Chicago Area Project, a grassroots service and advocacy agency based in downtown Chicago and part of an Illinois-wide community-services network targeting at-risk youth and their families. For more information about MWAH! or to book an event, call Moffitt at 630-993-0003, or visit the website MWAH! page.	A story about the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe as published November 30, 2010 in the media website edition of River Cities' Reader, a bi-weekly newspaper covering the arts, business, culture, and politics of the Quad Cities, a geographic region of the Mid-Mississippi Valley of the United States including the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois and the surrounding communities of four counties - Scott in Iowa and Rock Island, Mercer, and Henry in Illinois. The total population of the Quad Cities in 2009 was 379,066. The Reader's managing editor is Jeff Ignatius. The photos are by Teresa Ousley of the award-winning Wiz of Oz Photography Studio.