Clifton Voice Kicks Off Juvenile Diabetes Walk
By Melissa Erin Monahan -News Editor

CLIFTON – Living alongside children makes life a song for Chanise Renae.

“I love children,” said the Clifton-based singer. “And when I’m not singing I work with kids.”

Actually, Renae was a child herself when Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem exploded during halftime at the XXV Super Bowl.

“I remember being mesmerized because she had a beautiful voice,” recalled Renae. “As a child I thought “Wow, I want to be able to sing like that.” I told a really good friend of mine who was, and still is an aspiring actress. She told me that it was still not too late for me and to go for it.

“I’ve been singing ever since.”

This Sunday, Renae will perform for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF)”Walk to Cure Diabetes” scheduled for the Garret Mountain campus of Berkeley College.

Poignantly, Renae’s interpretation of the National Anthem will open Sunday’s

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately three million Americans have Type1 diabetes. The condition, most often diagnosed in childhood, strikes suddenly but poses a lifetime of deadly threats that – if left unmanaged – include heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation.

The ongoing mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications “through support and research.”

The annual Walk is therefore a way to draw healthy crowds in the name of eradicating an all-too common disease.

“Financially, it is not easy for me to donate a lot of money, and I like to help out where I can,” added Renae. “I figured for this event that
lending my vocal talent is my donation for such a good
cause. Plus I get to meet people in the organization and learn more about the disease.”

After all, lending her voice to important causes is nothing new for Renae.

“As a singer,” she said, “I have sung for many different charities, sports teams and events.”

These include the Philadelphia 76ers, Metro Stars, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as well as the annual Passaic County 9-11 memorial service.

And while her voice has been trained for a more Pop as well as R&B genre, “I usually sing the National Anthem,” said Renae, “acapella.”