The Be a Friend Project’s “Evening with Friends”
By Michael Coppola
On Sunday, April 7th 2024, the Be a Friend Project hosted their annual fundraiser “Evening with Friends”. The event, held at Ardsley Country Club in New York included an Honoree award, live and silent auctions, moving speeches, and performances by “Broadway’s Best and Broadway Bound” which I was so honored to be a part of!
The performance directed by January Akselrad and accompanied by the Sarah Jane Cion Band helped set the mood for the evening. Additionally, performers such as Jenn Gambatese, Mariama Diop, Chloe Hogan, Aurora Lotz, Alayna Martus, Jayden Theophile, Samuel Li Weintraud, sang solos, duets, and trios surrounding the ideas of friendship.
As a Teen Kindness Board member I also had the opportunity to sing at the event! Singing “Out There” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame I focused my performance on the ideas of hope and how to remember even in the darkest of times things will eventually get better.
Towards the end of the performance all the performers came together to sing one finale number, “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King. Led by Jenn Gambatese, the “Broadway’s Best and Broadway Bound” performers topped the night off with this beautiful performance allowing the audience to join in.
During the fundraiser, Joyce Chapnick, principal of Main Street School in Irvington New York was awarded 2024 Honoree for Be A Friend Project’s “Evening with Friends”. Joyce has always been dedicated to creating supportive and inclusive environments in school and for her students. Joyce was joined by some of her fellow staff members, family, friends and students who came to support her, and efforts to stop bullying and build kinder communities.
In 2018, Joyce also received the Be A Friend Project’s Super Ambassador Educator Award, as well as in 2021, her school was selected to receive the “Super Ambassador School” distinction and plaque for the years of support to the Be A Friend Project and their staff and student upstanders.
Throughout the night, various speeches were made including a speech from Joyce after she received her award. Daniel Simpson, a founding Teen Kindness Board member and Emcee for the “Evening with Friends” spoke at the event as well Beth Edgworth, who gave an extremely touching speech about what the Be A Friend Project has done for her daughter and family. She thanks them for giving her daughter a new outlook on life and her new found interests in different activities.
After speaking with Jennifer Young, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Be A Friend Project she sums up the evening by saying, “‘Evening With Friends’ was a spectacular success raising an essential $51,000 for the Be A Friend Project! Every single ticket holder, auction bid, donor, volunteer, performer and speaker combined to present a visible, powerful validation of support for the work of our student Upstanders. I had hoped the programming would show guests the impact of the BAFP and their support — and it did — but what I didn’t expect was the amount of guests who came up to me expressing a level of shock and awareness, a new understanding of the life-changing consequences of purposeful, ongoing exclusion, and verbal and physical assaults on kids a.k.a. “bullying.” For that, I thank our courageous speakers for telling their stories; we had emotional remarks from a student, a parent and a Principal — our Honoree. The greatest outcome of the evening was amplifying their voices and sending 150 guests home with a new awareness that bullying is never just “kids being kids.”
About the Author
Michael J Coppola is a passionate 16 year old who has been a performer in theatre and arts since he was 6 years old. Just recently he had the honor of being welcomed to be part of the Be A Friend Project (BAFP) Teen Kindness Board. Some of Michael’s interests include makeup, fashion, and especially singing and acting. At school he enjoys learning Chinese and writing, in hopes to write his first musical in the future. Michael identifies as Gay and Gender Queer and has been advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ youth since he was very young. He hopes that his work can positively impact others.
