INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Kids face gut checks every day at school when they must decide whether or not to stand up to bullies and stick up for the underdog, or go along to get along, but those kinds of character dilemmas do not end after middle school.
Sometimes the tests are small things, like that large box of kitty litter or that 12-pack of soda the cashier didn’t see, but you tacitly let the bag boy load into your car. Sometimes they are bigger things, but they all boil down to doing what’s right.
Up with People will pose those character questions and more in a song-and-dance production at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2 at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center. Already, their Feb. 25 arrival has caused a stir.
The show’s international cast of 120 young people from 20 different countries pulled up via police escort to a welcome by Vero Beach Mayor Craig Fletcher.
Even more eccentric, 50 host families from across the county awaited them dressed in superhero costumes so the cast members could recognize them.
“This gives a bit of flavor for the excitement that is about to come,” said organizer Ashley Wright. “This show and the program is life changing, for the young people who take part, the audience who see them, and the families who host them.”
Wright and her colleague Oscar Nissen arrived more than two weeks ago as part of Up With People’s advance team tasked with promoting the event and coordinating the many details for the show and the cast members’ stay in Indian River County.
Up with People is a non-profit international global education and community leadership program for young people ages 17 to 29.
While traveling in the six-month program, cast members visit three different regions of the world, stay with host families to build personal worldwide awareness and connections, participate in relevant community service projects in cities they visit.
They then perform an energetic uplifting stage show that brings the community together and celebrates the positive impact the cast had on the city during their visit.
Former cast members and parents of cast members testified to the value of the experience.
“I have gained self-confidence, public speaking and leadership skills, and the ability to interact with a very diverse group,” said Up with People alumna Jessica Kendra, a Pennsylvania native who stayed with a Sebastian host family. “The international component is evident. It made me care about what does on in the world and inspired my career goals to make a difference on a global level.”
Parents Cathy and Chris Jones say the experience turned their children into who they were meant to be.
“Up with People was a life-changer for both of our children, even though they are entirely different people at different stages of their lives,” Cathy Jones said. “There is no other program that could have challenged them, shaped them, stretched them, perplexed them, and satisfied them more.”
The visit to Indian River County is sponsored by the McDonald/Cunningham Family Foundation, the foundation also offering scholarships to current and past graduates of Vero Beach High School to enroll in the program.
The substantial sponsorship means that 100 percent of the money raised in the two shows will remain in the community.
Tickets are $15 for attendees, $12 for students and seniors or $100 for sponsoring members. The goal is to raise $20,000 on the two shows and any other donations collected.
The money will be divided among the Dasie Hope Center, the Gifford Youth Activity Center and Vero Beach High School Tribe Pride. Participants also volunteer for nonprofit organizations while they are visiting an area.
“We hope that when we leave, our spirit for service will stay behind,” Wright said, adding that the goal is to encourage local residents to give back to their community on an even greater level in terms of donations and volunteerism.
“Not everyone may be able to travel the globe, and that is why we want to show everyone that there are needs right in our own backyards that can be addressed,” she said.
If the message is hope and goodwill throughout the world, performing arts is the vehicle that delivers it. Training and performing across the globe provide young adults an international and intercultural experience that sparks them to action in meeting the needs of their communities, countries and the world, while building bridges of understanding as a foundation for world peace.
A sampling of the songs include lyrics like “one world, one heart.” Performers don colorful costumes from all over the world, twirling to catchy beats sung with vibrant voices.
Building bridges, literally and figuratively, is a strong thread throughout the message. Young people reach out their hands to children of other cultures, acted out on stage and also shown on video screens, with images from real life visits to developing nations.
The literal part comes in with images of troupe members expending elbow grease to literally help build the infrastructure of poor nations.
Videos show the packaging of food, complete with seasonings and staples, that are boxed for shipment to Haiti. The song is called “Feed My Children.”
Cast members sing “Gawad Kilinga” as their video images show them interacting with children in the Philippines, dancing in a circle holding hands, playing basketball and planting greenery together.
Broadway-quality vocals are interspersed with rap for a range of musical styles and sounds. Images of poverty, unsanitary conditions and despair are tempered by a catchy beat and inspiring lyrics.
The harsh reality, however, is that despite the fact that Up With People is 45 years old and 21,000 future leaders have taken part, parts of the world still experience extreme poverty, disease, hunger and suffering. There is clearly much work still to be done. The underlying call to action is for the audience to go forth and make a difference.
But the feel-good interchange with the cast is well worth the admission price. In addition to raising money and encouraging volunteerism on a local basis, Up with People hopes to recruit high school graduates to join the cast and families to host cast members in coming years.
“Recruitment is a high priority here,” Wright said, pointing out that Indian River County is full of “very smart and talented young people.” In other words, great candidates for Up with People.
Each participant will have the opportunity to travel, live and learn with 100 fellow cast members from an average of 20 different countries, requiring them to work cooperatively while exploring the similarities and differences of people from other nations, religions and cultures.
A typical semester tour will take participants to more than 20 cities on a multi-region odyssey, experiencing the languages, sights and cultural experiences unique to each region. Students can earn up to 12 credit hours toward college.
The Up with People program also provides the opportunity for participants to live with and learn from host families in the communities they visit, gaining a personal perspective of day-to-day life in that corner of the world while sharing lifestyles and experiences.
For more information on the program, to join the cast or host future cast members, go to www.upwithpeople.org.
Tickets are available for purchase on the website and at the VBHS Performing Arts Center box office and at Marine Bank & Trust branches.