Dear Editor,

We, the citizens of Cheraw, are very fortunate to have the Community Youth Organization Marching Corps participating in our Christmas parade this year.

The Greenville CYO (Community Youth Organization) Marching Corps will participate in the Cheraw Christmas Parade. The CYO Marching Corps participated in the 2009 Christmas Parade. Greenville is a downtown inner city neighborhood in Charlotte, N.C. The marching band sponsors are Wallace Mechanical Supply, Inc., and American Stainless Steel, LLC. This band is unique in that it began as an idea brought to fruition by Mr. Thomas “Pop” Sandler and his wife Marie Sandler.

“Pop” Sandler is the Program Director of the Greenville Combined Community Youth Organization.

The CYO Marching Corps is a non-profit organization and is part of Inner City Urban Renewal in the Charlotte area. The organization started in the Sandler’s home with just a few kids and $400 in Greenville’s Neighborhood Association Funds. This was the beginning of the CYO Marching Corps. In a short time, the number of kids grew and the Sandler’s applied and received grants to move the organization forward and to purchase a Greenville home to house the organization. The organization began to grow and so did the services offered, such as computer lab, tutoring, art and cultural learning etc. The heart of the organization is education.

However, the organization also provides stability, encouragement, nurturing, build self-esteem and improve each child’s academic performance.

The CYO Marching Corps began traveling the East Coast participating in parades and competitions. The Marching Corps is proud of their most recent competition in which they competed in the Memorial Day Parade in Myrtle Beach, S.C., against school band and came in second place. This is such a wonderful accomplishment for a community organization. The Sandler’s have had a great impact within their neighborhood and it’s children.

Cynthia Moore

Cheraw