By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
Children who hone their performance skills at two area studios put their talent on display during a recent fundraising show at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey in Monroe Township.
Youngsters between the ages of 7 and 18 who take classes at Music University, Freehold Township, and West Side Dance Studio, Jackson, put on a show for friends, family members and guests at the “Castle” headquarters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, said Paul Sallee, the owner of Music University.
“Each year, our students perform a concert for a charity they select. They try to pick a charity that has something to do with children,” Sallee said. “This year we teamed up with Eva Peacock’s students at the West Side Dance Studio for ‘Music and Dance From the Heart.’ ”
The performance took place at the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Oct. 22 with about 60 students showcasing their musical and dance abilities, Sallee said. The students sold tickets to the show and a gift auction was also part of the festivities.
“As it turned out, one child who performed that day is a cancer survivor who had been a Make-A-Wish child,” Sallee said. “His mom thanked us for selecting Make-A-Wish and when she told us why, it meant a great deal. We did not even know about his connection to Make-A-Wish until after we had selected this year’s charity.”
Peacock, the owner of the West Side Dance Studio, said she knows Sallee through her son who was a student at Music University for a number of years. She said this year Sallee suggested that the two studios team up for the charity performance.
“Our students were really excited to perform and afterward they took a tour of the wish room, where they got a feel for what Make-A-Wish does and how that affects other children,” Peacock said.
Representatives of the performance studios recently returned to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and presented the organization with a check in the amount of $8,686, according to Sallee.
Rose Farr, the assistant vice president of development for Make-A-Wish New Jersey, said, “We are incredibly grateful to the students and staff of Music University and West Side Dance who so generously gave of their time and talent for this event.
“Thanks to our friends and donors in the community, we celebrate a successful history of granting wishes and changing lives, but with an estimated 700 New Jersey children expected to be newly diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition this year, we have much more to do.
“The funds raised by this event will help us to meet this challenge and will fully fund a wish. The effort of these young people was tremendous and made more special by the fact that these are kids helping other kids in their community,” Farr said.
