Chester Children's Chorus celebrates 30 years helping at-risk kids

CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Since its inception, more than 950 children have participated in the Chester Children's Chorus.

This year, the choir and nonprofit is marking a major milestone, marking 30 years of helping Chester's youth, all while providing a soundtrack of ethereal melodies.

"I had no goal when I started the program," said founder John Alston. "I didn't know anything about how to teach music, and now I have 115 kids in the choir and we can sing."

Alston founded Chester Children's Chorus in 1994 with just seven children in the chorus. Ever since, the chorus has been spotlighting the vocals of almost 1,000 children who either live or attend school in the city of Chester.

But it's more than just a choir. The Chester Children's Chorus has helped develop the musical talents of students, while also sharpening their math skills through individualized instruction by Swarthmore College students.

Program alums have been accepted to Harvard, Stanford to Penn.

For Alston, changing the lives of students one song at a time has been his biggest accomplishment.

"I'm proud I made it to 30 and I wish I had 30 more in me, but I'm pretty creaky these days. We've come so far, but we do have a long way to go before we can offer these children all the opportunities they need," he said.

Alston hopes to include a language arts program in the coming years.

Students will be performing a concert honoring MLK, Jr. on Saturday, January 13th at Swarthmore College at 4pm.

For more information, visit https://www.swarthmore.edu/chester-childrens-chorus