Four coaches take their seats in front of the stage. All of them have their backs turned to the next contestant on stage. As the contestant sings their song, each judge, one-by-one, presses the button on their lecture table and swivels their chair around to see the face behind the voice. The Voice illuminates the backdrop for each contestant during their performance. Ultimately, one of the four teams can win the competition as the audience votes monetarily for which team of singers performed best. This fundraiser, modeled after the show The Voice, displays the singing talent of individuals in the district and is a part of how money is donated back into the community. 

On February 12, the Revere Power Pack Program set up a fundraiser that included a singing contest, dinner and an auction to raise money for meals for students in the Revere High School district. 

The Revere Power Pack Program is a non-profit organization that works to provide students in the Revere Community with food outside of school hours. Jill O’Hara, president and treasurer of the Revere Power Pack Program, worked with National Honor Society students the first day of each school week to pack these meals for those in need. She also coordinated and created The Revere Voice fundraiser at the Hilton hotel in Fairlawn. O’Hara and the Revere Power Pack Program started these fundraisers back in February 2018 but with a slightly different concept. 

“In February 2018, we had our first fundraiser which was at the Hilton as well, but it was Dancing with the Stars, so we had dancers and people voted monetarily for their favorite team,” O’Hara said.

They held that fundraiser until they changed the competition to The Revere Voice. O’Hara and the rest of the Revere Power Pack Program held discussions about the next fundraiser in 2020 before everything shut down due to COVID-19. The shutdown caused them to not be able to hold a fundraiser in 2021. Although the Dancing with the Stars fundraiser was very successful, O’Hara decided to switch the theme because The Revere Voice made it easier for contestants to practice easier and more efficiently.

“The only reason I switched was it was very hard to find dancers. It required lots of practice and lots of people had to get together. Singing is something, it’s not that it doesn’t take a lot of practice, but you can practice singing at home and [you] don’t have to get together with someone,” O’Hara said.

They held one The Revere Voice fundraiser before the shutdown and the concept worked well for the next year and everyone enjoyed it, so they decided to do it again this year. 

“We got such positive feedback from the first Revere Voice, I mean the crowd had their candles in the air and there were people singing,” O’Hara said.

 The Revere Power Pack members contacted singers for the competition and talked to prominent figures in the district to be coaches. 

“I search [for contestants,] and it’s very hard. I knew that Molly Oldham sang, so I wanted to get a hold of her,” O’Hara said.

Molly Oldham is a Revere alumna and a former Lantern reporter. Singing and music is a big part of Oldham’s life and when she was contacted about this opportunity, she was excited to be back in the Revere community to participate in this event.

“Honestly, this is going to be fun . . . we’re doing this for the community, coming together [to perform] and feel something good,” Oldham said. 

Oldham has an extensive background in singing and musical theater; she began singing at only five years old. Later, she had parts in musicals and plays at Revere High School, following in the footsteps of her older sister. 

“I started performing when I was five . . . I took after my older sister who also went to Revere. I never stopped taking voice lessons since I was very little. I was very involved with Revere Players and music [since I was the president of players],” Oldham said. 

Today, music is still a big part of Oldham’s life, as she is pursuing a major in musical theater at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and hopes to have acting opportunities in the future. 

“I’m a sophomore in musical theater major, and when I graduate, I’ll have a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in musical theater, hopefully [leading] to acting opportunities in New York and Broadway,” Oldham said. 

Unfortunately the day that Oldham was supposed to move into college, she was diagnosed with brain cancer, which caused her to question whether she was ready to move eight hours away from home and take care of herself. Luckily she had such a strong support system from the Revere community and her family that she was able to conquer such obstacles. During her recovery process, she found any way she could to sing or perform. Through this fundraiser, Oldham is able to give back to her community that supported her during her recovery and revisit the great memories she made at Revere. 

“I’m excited to meet people, like I said before Revere was the perfect place for me. I had the greatest friends, and the teachers here are incredible. [When I was] diagnosed with cancer, the Revere community, my friends from high school and middle school and my teachers from elementary school [were] the people that banded together to help me jump over that bridge. Now being here for [the fundraiser] is just so important to me, and I’m so grateful I have the opportunity,” Oldham said. 

When Oldham returned to Revere, she also got to meet many new people in the community. One of those people was Michael Tefs, superintendent of the Revere school district. Tefs was a coach during this event and was amazed by Molly’s voice and her story. 

“[Molly] made the event very special. It’s the first time I’ve ever met Molly. She’s an incredible young lady,” Tefs said. 

Tefs admires each of the singers for the courage they had to perform on the stage in front of the members of the Revere community. Interestingly, Tefs had never seen The Voice before this opportunity but watched some episodes before he coached on Saturday. 

“The Voice is a fun theme, [and] it was a lot of fun. The coaches tried to [argue] with each other. I did watch a couple episodes [of The Voice] to figure out what I was trying to do,” Tefs said.

Tefs exclaimed that Oldham’s voice was broadway-worthy and that each time she got on stage, there was a standing ovation. The two people that were on his team were Nick Stano and Tyler Reid. Tefs talked about his team during the fundraiser.

“[Nick Stano] was on my team. [Reid sang] country music, and he was amazing. He was moving around the stage and coming out into the audience; he was legit. We had the first round, I went over, gave them all a hug and congratulated them and introduced myself,” Tefs said. 

Like Tefs’ singers, Oldham chose songs that reflected her talent and what she is trained in. Oldham explained what songs she chose and why. 

“We picked two songs. I picked ‘Quiet’ by Natalie Weiss, which is a song I’ve been singing for a long time. I chose this song because when I first started singing it, I had vocal coaches telling me that [I’m not ready to sing it]. I didn’t like hearing that I shouldn’t do [something,] so I trained my voice. I learned the song inside and out, so I feel confident in singing this one,” Oldham said. 

The next song is a polar opposite genre from her first choice. For this song, Oldham wanted to display her experience in the musical theater aspect. 

“Also [a song from] ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ which is a very fun musical and it’s just flashy. I was like why not do something fun, totally different,” Oldham said. 

Along with her teammate Gina Pappano, former Health and Physical Education Teacher in the Revere district, the two contestants proved to be a winning combination. While Pappano had sung in her high school choir, her first public singing experience was later in her adulthood.

“It just grew from there. I gained a little bit of confidence and sang a little bit more [after that],” Pappano said. 

She began to sing in her church and the occasional karaoke with her friends. Her first show was at the district she previously taught at before Revere called Springfield. 

“It was all the staff and faculty of the school district that went on our variety show to raise money for students going into education,” Pappano said. 

She hadn’t sung at a show since then, but when she was asked to sing for this fundraiser, she was excited to see all the familiar faces once again. 

“Luckily for Molly and I, all four coaches had turned around, so we had our choice. I stuck with Carol Bonacci’s team because I’ve known her since [I had her children in class] and having Molly as my student. It was just like our team was a family and it was meant to be,” Pappano said.

Pappano picked her first song based on how well it suited her vocal range. 

“I’m an alto so . . . [the] first song I selected was by Adele, ‘Someone Like You,’ just because I love her voice . . . and I felt I could get that one done with no problem,” Pappano said. 

Like Oldham, Pappano also picked a more upbeat song in order to excite the crowd and have a more fast-paced energy than their first performance. 

“I chose . . . ‘Piece of My Heart’ by Janis Joplin. That one I did in another show, the show in Springfield and it was a big hit. I’d say it’s a rocking song, so you can get everybody up and out of their chairs and get them moving a little bit,” Pappano said.

In addition to actually winning the competition, Pappano was impressed by the event and every aspect of it. O’Hara’s choice in coaches helped the show to be similar to the television show banter as O’Hara had originally intended. The performers came prepared all with a variety of different genres and songs that made for an interesting competition. While Team Carol emerged triumphant after Saturday’s events, there were plenty of other talented singers that were up on stage. O’Hara and the rest of the Power Pack Board recruited these other amazing singers which include:

Jenny Baird is a musician from Akron, Ohio. During 2020, she launched Rockstar Camp, an online performance workshop for kids quarantined at home. She also writes songs and trains in metro-park trails for her first half-marathon. 

Nick Stano is a graduate of Kent State University. Stano joined the lineup the day before the fundraiser. Stano began singing when he was three or four and is now in several bands. 

Daniel Doty is a tenor who performs in operas, theaters and concert stages. Doty holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Bowling Green State University. He has many accolades in the opera fields including a performance at Carnegie Hall. 

Karyn Morgan performs with many groups in multiple different genres as a singer-songwriter. She has recorded three CDs of original music. She currently performs with a folk-rock group and a female trio. 

Nicole Neiman began singing as a little girl. She joined the ETC show choir in fourth grade and soon began taking voice lessons. She attended the University of Akron and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in sociology. Her band, “Walking in Circles” works on covers and writes original music. 

Tyler Reid works in the consultative experience in the employee benefits industry. He was on Team Michael (Tefs) and sang a country song. 

Coaching these great singers on Saturday were prominent figures in the community picked by O’Hara and the board. 

“I tried to find people who are meaningful in the community. I look for people who are going to interact, people who will be fun,” O’Hara said.

O’Hara chose three other people to sit in the chairs and represent each team. These people include:

Michael Beers who works in the Summit County Sheriff’s office. Beers works in schools and teaches Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) and is also a Mounted Police Instructor. He is a previous Revere “Dancing with the Stars” contestant. 

Carolina Bonacci worked as a Spanish interpreter in the hospitals and clinics from the Akron area for 11 years, working with the immigrant community. She has five children, all who went to Revere and graduated from The Ohio State University. 

Rachel Rich has been teaching at Old Trail School for sixteen years and was recently awarded the Catherine-Silver McNamara Award. Mike Beers is her brother-in-law, who was also a coach for the fundraiser. 

After the much anticipated return of The Revere Voice fundraiser, Coach Carol and her two singers earned the win. With the help of volunteers and her sponsors, O’Hara was able to set up this event and donate the earnings to food for children in the community. The Revere Power Pack Program is completely non-profit and gives all of its donations towards the food for the children. The sponsors also donated the items for the auctions and the gift cards that were won during the event.