Happy Thursday, Lifted! Families -
Last night, the kids worked super hard on a new song called "Just Want to Praise You” and learned the entire thing in one shot! For those of you who weren’t there, the lyrics and the audio file can be referenced in the ‘Members Only' area of the website at www.liftedcommunity.org. We also added a new folder to the members only area that will include each of the the emailed weekly updates for your reference. As a reminder, the password is, WeAreFamily. Below is the direct link:
https://www.liftedcommunity.org/members-only
Following rehearsal, we hosted a 30-minute Caregivers meeting after rehearsal to go over volunteer opportunities within the Lifted! community. Kyle Fox graciously stepped up and ran the meeting to discuss different areas where caregivers & volunteers can get involved. Some of the areas of contribution include:
Helping with day-of event coordination
Assisting with wardrobe planning and procurement
Contributing prepackaged snacks and beverages for use throughout the season
Helping to coordinate food for performance days
Supervising the choristers (sign-ins, backstage, etc.)
Assisting with nonprofit research and grant writing
Providing snacks for rehearsal
As you all know, Lifted!’s structure is still in its "infant stage", taking its first steps and very much trying to get its arms around what it takes to keep everything running smoothly. Thank you all for your incredible patience and grace in this messy but necessary process. If you feel like you have a specific gift that would contribute to the mission of Lifted!, please don’t hesitate to let us know what that gift is and we will find a way to use it! As often said “many hands make light work” and it’s been a gift to have you all contribute in so many ways!
As a result of our meeting, Hannah Farkas (Six & Hannah’s mom) has volunteered to be the point person and event coordinator for our Christmas Concert and Haley Ballast (Sadie’s mom) volunteered to coordinate dinner for the choir on concert day. You can anticipate hearing from them both in the coming weeks with some concrete opportunities to contribute in preparation. In the nearer term, we have a sign-up genius going for providing weekly rehearsal snacks. Here is the link if you would like to contribute in that way.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0545A4AB22A7FC1-44593103-weekly
We will also start gathering volunteers to assist with rehearsal check-in and attendance on the days that Brianna can’t take the lead. Please let me know if that is something that you think you might be able to help with and we’ll add you to that list.
On a final and important note, we have an important decision to make regarding the date and venue of our upcoming Christmas concert. A few parents mentioned the potential issue of not having enough room to host at Lake B considering the current size of the choir (53 choristers!!) and the fact that our last concert was standing room only.
After discussing various possibilities (multiple shows, different space configuration, etc.), one suggested solution was to see if a larger venue in our area would host us free-of-charge. Haley Ballast checked with John Knox Presbyterian (seats about 400) and they have confirmed availability on Saturday, December 9th (the evening of the 10th, as originally scheduled, is unavailable). We would also need access to sound engineers and equipment at a very discounted rate and thankfully, Matt Collins, has offered to work with Benji on engineering sound and gathering equipment for the concert. (LOVE how a beautiful plan comes together!)
I am requesting that you all “chime-in” on a separate email to me and let me know your thoughts about considering this possibility. (Example: Will this schedule change create a conflict? Do you have a venue preference or suggestion?) We’ll need to get back with John Knox soon to lock in this date (if we decide to accept) and this will be the final decision needed before we begin promotions for the event in the coming weeks.
I look forward to hearing from you all.
Have a great weekend and thanks again for being a valued part of this incredible family!
Crystal Hairston
**NOTE: Do you know of someone not receiving these weekly updates? Please send a note to me and let me know. We are in the process of compiling a master list of updated emails as well as a Lifted! Family Directory so we can ensure the communication is being received by everyone. More info is soon to come.