On February 4, the Revere Power Pack held their annual The Voice fundraiser at the Hilton Akron-Fairlawn to raise money to provide free meals to children that need it. 

Revere Power Pack is an organization that provides food for Revere children in need on the weekends. The organization was founded when Power Pack President Jennifer “Jill” O’Hara approached former Revere Superintendent Matthew Montgomery with the idea in 2017. 

O’Hara explained what made her want to start this organization at Revere. 

“I asked [Montgomery] if there was any need for such a service and he said yes. . . . A family had started a similar program for Nordonia, and I thought it was so cool. Once I retired from Nordonia, it just seemed like maybe we need that in Revere,” O’Hara said. 

O’Hara is a retired Nordonia teacher who graduated from Revere and still lives within the district. 

In previous years, Power Pack did a Dancing with the Stars fundraiser. This proved itself to be somewhat difficult, as participants had to find time to go practice with their partners. 

O’Hara explained why they chose to change it to The Voice.

“I thought, ‘what could we do that would take less time so we could get more participants, and to get participants easier?’ And if you think about it, if you’re singing by yourself you can practice at home. . . So I thought, let’s do the Revere Voice,” O’Hara said. 

The fundraiser was successful and raised a large sum of money for the organization.

“[The night was] wonderful. It was our most successful fundraiser ever. We had a cocktail hour from 5:30-6:30 so people could just come look at auction items, find their tables and mingle. Then we had a sit down dinner, and immediately following dinner [started the show],” O’Hara said. 

Dinner and dessert were provided for guests. The event took place in a ballroom at the Hilton Akron-Fairlawn, where there was a stage, large chairs and buzzers to be like the actual show itself. There were large screens displaying the performances so all guests could have a clear view of the stage. Along with the performances, there were silent auctions and raffle items. 

The fundraiser mimics the reality singing competition show The Voice. Principal Dr. Andy Peltz was a coach in the competition. He explained the idea behind the competition. 

“The idea is that we want to try to recruit all the different singers to be part of your team, and then assemble the team that would be voted to be the strongest at the end,” Peltz said. 

This was Peltz’s first year participating in the event. 

Revere Middle School teacher Patrick DiCaprio was a singer in the fundraiser. DiCaprio performed Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Franki Valli and In My Life by the Beatles. 

DiCaprio explained why he participated in the fundraiser. 

“I just wanted to use the opportunity to give back to the community. I thought it was a great opportunity to volunteer and use my musical ability for good,” DiCaprio said. 

DiCaprio explained the structure of the contest. 

“They had nine performers this year, and each performer played a song . . . After the first song, we were able to pick which judge we wanted to work with if they turned their chair around. Then we played a second round, and the winner was selected by donations,” DiCaprio said. 

Peltz explained the voting process to select which team won the contest. 

“People were asked to donate money for the team they felt deserved to win, and the team that got the most money donated was declared the winner . . . Mrs. Stein’s team won; they didn’t announce the individual person,” Peltz said. 

Although Power Pack is helping out Revere families in need, O’Hara expressed that some people have had a somewhat negative attitude towards the program. 

“When we first started [Power Pack,] there was the whole thought that the need was not in Revere,” O’Hara said. 

O’Hara explained that you cannot judge families in the district as a whole, and that every family has their own circumstances. 

“Bad circumstances can happen to anyone at any time and can throw a household into distress . . . and it cannot be judged by a community; it’s by an individual basis,” O’Hara said. 

Because of donations and fundraisers like these, Power Pack is able to continue to help Revere families in need and ensure that no family in the district should have to worry about food. 

Click HERE for more Lantern articles featuring efforts to help families in need.