DUHS choir members accompanied youngsters on a $500 shopping spree at Pamida Dec. 20

Dowagiac Fine Arts Boosters’ inaugural Christmas project involved no caroling — mathematics mostly.
Fueled by $500 raised pumping gas in November, Shop with a Choir Member paired two Union High School singers with each of 10 students armed with $50 at Pamida.
One student helped the child select presents while the other kept track of the budget.
Considering that Director Jeff Robinson’s choirs consist of 167 vocalists, some auditioning was involved just for the privilege of sampling holiday cheer at the service end of a shopping cart.
Robinson asked students to write essays expressing their interest, which added language arts as an ingredient in Shop with a Choir Member along with math and community service.
Today won’t be a “Silent Night” as the choir will be singing at Forest Glen and The Timbers. On Dec. 15, it performed at Dowagiac Rotary Club.
“I told kids this is the first year we’ve done this. We may change something next year. Having a roving caroling group could be fun,” Robinson said. “We’re trying to be sensitive to families’ needs. I’ve never had a problem with my kids rising to the occasion. If you give the kids a challenge to make a difference, they always exceed what I expect.
“One of my students was concerned because (the girl being helped) wasn’t ‘buying anything for herself. She refuses.’ I said, ‘Tell her she deserves to have something small and that would make us feel better.’
“If it wasn’t for the Shop with a Cop concept, I wouldn’t have thought of doing this kind of thing. I stopped short of calling them so as to not completely imitate their thunder. By the same token, the concept of us being part of the process means more to me than just giving them $50.
“Really, it means more to us almost than it does to the kid getting gifts. That’s a pretty powerful message.”