(Pictured above: Seaway District High School student Brandon Mooney
hopes a CD he helped create will generate thousands of dollars to aid
cancer research. The CD, Living in the Chorus, features 11 songs by
various student bands.)
(Iroquois) - Music is a universal language.
It can melt the heart, challenge the mind, and heal the soul.
Brandon Mooney and his friends hope to do all that and help a good cause.
The grade 12 Seaway District High School student recently organized production of Living in the Chorus – an 11-song CD featuring music by various student bands cut to raise thousands for the Canadian Cancer Society. It was also created to draw attention to the contributions of youth in our communities.
“We (youth) may be considered to be selfish by some,” explained Mooney of the inspiration behind producing the CD. “This CD project is really a way for students to give back to society and to show that they care more than just about themselves.”
The CD also relates to character and the idea of persevering against cancer – one of the chief reasons that the Upper Canada District School Board Character Always program helped sponsor the CD. The CD features original songs that deal with the fight against cancer. Song topics range from the joy of overcoming the disease to how it influences our lives as it touches us individually or through friends and family.
For Mooney, it’s a theme that strikes a personal note, as his uncle and grandmother died of cancer.
“Everyone knows someone directly or indirectly who has been touched by cancer and this is a way that we can help support people who are coping with it and have survived,” he said.
The Board’s Character Always committee has invited Mooney to sell the CD May 6 during the UCDSB’s Real to Reel Film Festival. One of the bands on the album, Sunday Fire, will be filmed by secondary students attending Real to Reel , which will take place at the Galaxy Cinemas in Brockville.
Mooney has penned a song called See the Sun, a tune about overcoming the odds and the struggle with cancer. It contains a healing message that even in dark times it’s possible to see light. Another catchy tune on the CD is Sometimes , the contribution of the student band The Double.
The CD, produced by Heaven’s Radio Studio in Vankleek Hill, costs about $12,000 to create. Mooney and his supporters have raised about $6,000 to offset that cost through sponsorships by various businesses, the selling of ads on the back of the CD cover, as well as a range of student fundraisers from penny drives to dances. It is hoped that the additional funds can be covered through sales as well as other fundraising initiatives.
Instead of setting a firm price on the CD, Mooney is asking for a minimum donation of $15 for Living in the Chorus. An area Scotia Bank branch has also agreed to make matching donations to the fundraising campaign of up to $5,000. Funds raised will be donated to the Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Prescott Russell branch of the Canadian Cancer Society.
For more information, please call:
Brandon Mooney
Student
Seaway District High School
(613) 989-2687