Children in a 'We Will Sing' performance last season.

The Miami Children’s Chorus, a non-profit organization located in Coral Gables, is enlisting the power of song to improve the quality of life for children throughout Miami-Dade County.

The MCC, for children ages 8-17, provides a choral music education program that is not only centered on performance, but also on the development of life-edifying skills, cultural awareness and social responsibility.

For 47 years, the MCC has dedicated its efforts to the betterment of its community by focusing on the growth and future success of its youth. The organization provides programs that encourage youth to collaborate, believe and achieve. This goal-setting mentality promotes excellence that radiates onto all parts of children’s lives.

The approach focuses on helping them develop creativity, discipline, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and respectful communication.

Through its many program offerings, MCC makes a strong case for choral music education and performance as a preserver of culture, and an enriching life experience.

Classes have already begun for MCC’s We Will Sing initiative in Homestead. Every Tuesday and Thursday the MCC artistic administrator, Annie Mendez, and chorus volunteers drive down to Homestead to work with children from the Thinking Child Academy and Sweet Vine Inc.

Both organizations have signed on as partners for MCC’s We Will Sing project in 2012-13. All the children are being prepared for their debut performance at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Homestead Community Center for MCC’S Homestead All Together Now community sing-along event, which is free and open to the entire community.

In 2012-13 MCC is also partnering with Abriendo Puertas of East Little Havana, the Leadership Learning Center and Playing the Game of Life for its other We Will Sing choral institutes.

We Will Sing is a project created by the MCC to further its reach and impact on the community. It is a free six-week choral experience that promotes singing by school-aged children, the preservation of songs that reflect our multicultural heritage, and a unified sense of community.

We Will Sing is presented in low-income/underserved communities to provide experiences for children who otherwise may not have the opportunity to experience the power and joy of singing.

It is part of MCC’s mission to continuously enhance the cultural life of South Florida by providing its participants and residents with a positive and valuable musical resource. We Will Sing is an integral part of this mission.

Visit www.miamichildrenschorus.org or call 305-662-7494 for a complete schedule of events. You can also find MCC on Facebook & follow the group on twitter @mccvoices.