59.0°,
Light Rain ‘Building community through the arts’
Hewlett High School junior organizes first-ever Friend-Raiser
Matthew Tinkelman describes himself as a “music kid” who believes it is the universal language. So over the past year-and-a-half, the 16-year-old Hewlett High School junior has worked to organize the first-ever Friend-Raiser event, which he said he hopes will utilize music and the arts to strengthen the weak bonds he sees within the Hewlett-Woodmere community.
“I’ve always wanted to be part of a community where everyone knows each other,” Tinkelman said. “The sense of community is there, but it could be better. I feel if we put all our differences aside, through music and art, we could try to make it a better place.”
The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 18, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Hewlett High School. It will include music performances and art exhibitions by students from Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools, Hebrew Academy of Long Beach (HALB), Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR), Lawrence-Woodmere Academy (LWA), Kulanu Torah Academy and Stella K. Abraham School for Girls. It will also feature the Five Towns Senior Center, United Chorale Society and the Jewish Community Center (JCC). Tinkelman said he hopes bringing all these groups together will help form bonds and friendships in the community.
“We consider it important to participate in the event because we have a commitment to teach our students the value of community,” said Alan Bernstein, headmaster of LWA. “This gives us an opportunity to connect with our own backyard and demonstrate to our families that we really care about this community, and music and art are wonderful vehicles for that.”
A song written by Tinkelman about community will be performed at the beginning of the day’s festivities. There will
be four age groups of students who will be performing music such as jazz and chamber in the Hewlett High School gymnasium. The United Chorale Society will be performing a West Side Story medley as well. Student art pieces will be on display in the high school’s main entrance. A $3 admission fee per person or $10 per family is required to cover the costs of the event.
