FEP Music and Dance Medley Showcases Young Performers

On Sunday, the Friends Enrichment Program (FEP) for financially disadvantaged Moorestown children will hold its annual Music and Dance Medley at 3 p.m. in the dining hall/commons of (MFS).  

The event will showcase young performers from FEP, the Friends School, and the community at large in an eclectic fast-paced program of song, dance and instrumental music. The FEP dancers will perform under the direction of two teenage FEP leaders: Ashleigh Cartwright and Desiree Williams. Ashleigh, a Moorestown Friends School Upper School junior, is the FEP creator, director and choreographer of FEP Introduction to Ballet. Desiree, a (MHS) sophomore, is the FEP Praise Dancing choreographer and director.

Amy Caffrey, a MHS senior who sings with the MHS Madrigals and who played the role of Julia in this year, will sing two songs from that musical comedy. The cast of younger musicians includes Chiara Cocelli, cello; Abrial and Breana Cocelli, piano; Aparna Hiremath, violin; Justin McAllister, violin; Nancy North, flute; Justin Trent-Nugent, percussion; and Paige Young, violin.   

Ashleigh and Desiree will be honored at the medley, along with two other FEP teenage counselors: MFS junior Alexander Hines and MFS sophomore Alicia Hutchinson. The foursome has contributed an impressive total of 223 hours of community service to FEP since the beginning of the school year.  

Desiree will also be honored as the 2012 recipient of the Monique Begg scholarship, which was established in the spring of 2011 by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Moorestown Friends Meeting. To be selected for this merit-based scholarship, a scholarship recipient must be a model of appropriate behavior, treat others with love and respect, and show eagerness to learn and develop his or her skills and talents.

Refreshments will follow the program. Members of the Meeting and children enrolled in the FEP program are making cookies for the event.  

The Music and Dance Medley is an opportunity for people of all ages to see FEP in action, enjoy a program of dance and music, socialize at the refreshment table, and help support FEP, a program that has been a life-enhancing experience for many young Moorestown residents.

Admission is free. However, freewill donations will be accepted. The proceeds will be entirely spent on enrichment scholarships for financially disadvantaged Moorestown children to attend day or residential summer camp, enroll in sports clinics or art classes, or take private music lessons at Perkins Conservatory of Music.    

Created in 1997, FEP functions under the aegis of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee. Aside from awarding need-based scholarships, it maintains a program of school-year activities in the Friends meetinghouse. Run by volunteers, this program is virtually cost-free and is open to all FEP scholarship recipients and school-age friends of FEP. Participating high school students who serve as counselors or counselors-in-training are credited for their hours of community service.  

FEP operates on a shoestring, without any endowment or invested income. Every year, it faces the challenge of raising funds it then converts into opportunities for financially disadvantaged youths. Most of the money it raises is spent on summer camp enrollments. More than 80 percent of the cost of the private music lessons FEP offers is paid by , with grant money from the Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation.  

For more information about FEP and the Music and Dance Medley, call Monique Begg at 856-235-3963.   

- Courtesy of Monique Begg, FEP chairperson