Making music, forming bonds

Over the past year-and-a-half, Hewlett High School junior Matthew Tinkleman has worked to organize the first-ever Friend-Raiser event, which took place last Sunday at Hewlett High School.

Tinkleman said he hoped the event would strengthen the weak bonds he sees within the Hewlett-Woodmere community through music and the arts. He added that his hope was that bringing all these groups together would help to form long-lasting friendships among students from different schools in the community.

The Friend-Raiser included music performances and art exhibitions by students from Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools, Hebrew Academy of Long Beach (HALB), Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR), Lawrence-Woodmere Academy (LWA), Kulanu Torah Academy and Stella K. Abraham School for Girls. It also featured the Five Towns Senior Center, United Chorale Society and the Jewish Community Center (JCC).