Life and Religion

The power of gospel music is helping raise awareness about strokes.

Church choirs can lend their voices in the Most Powerful Voices Choir Competition, a singing contest sponsored by the American Stroke Association and the Gospel Music Channel.

Two winning choirs will perform at the Power Awards Show on May 7 at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. The show is hosted in honor of people who increase stroke awareness among African Americans.

Between the two performing choirs, one will win the grand prize: a professional coaching session from a national gospel artist.

Other prizes for winners include:

• 50 free tickets per winning choir to the 2010 Power Awards Show.

• One American Airlines ticket per winning choir to attend the Power Awards.

• $5,000 worth of music equipment per winning choir from Roland, manufacturer and distributor of electronic musical instruments.

• Recognition on the Gospel Music Channel.

“The Gospel Music Channel’s mission is to inspire, uplift and entertain,” said Philip Manwaring, vice president of digital media for the Gospel Music Channel, in a statement. “We believe the Most Powerful Voices contest will inspire people to make positive lifestyle changes to prevent strokes and entertain them through uplifting music from outstanding choirs across America.” Manwaring added: “We are thrilled to be part of such a beneficial program to prevent strokes and showcase great choirs and music.”

Choirs interested in competing can submit a video or MP3 recording of one song and provide photos and background information by March 9.
In order to move to the next round, each choir should have at least five different people to register and vote for their choir.

Large and small choirs can participate from churches, the military or other groups, however participants must be 18 years of age.

The public can vote for their favorite choir through March 20. Then, the public can vote again from March 28 to April 6, amongst the top 20 choirs picked.

Each choir to register for the competition will receive a monthly newsletter from the American Stroke Association’s Power to End Stroke campaign.

Power to End Stroke targets African Americans because of their disproportionate risk of strokes from incidents including high blood pressure and diabetes.

“Stroke is a serious issue in the African American community,” Dr. Rani Whitfield, a family practitioner in Baton Rouge, La., said in a statement.

“It’s the leading cause of severe, long term disability, and more than 100,000 African Americans will suffer a new or reoccurring stroke this year.”

“That’s why it’s an important requirement of this competition to register people to receive stroke information,” added Whitfield, an American Stroke Association spokesperson. “We need to reach as many people as possible to help them to reduce their risk and to know what to do in a stroke emergency to help improve stroke outcomes.”

On the Net:
For more information or to register, visit: choir.gospelmusicchannel.com.

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