For more than six months, Sister Rene Procopio had been planning a field trip in February for the Mooncrest Neighborhood Association's after-school program in Moon to the Father Ryan Arts Center in McKees Rocks.

The children in her care -- 35 of them -- were keyed up to go, having been there for a weeklong "Peace Camp" last summer where they had learned drumming and dance and pottery.

"They were so psyched up, oh my gosh!" said Sister Rene of the Felician Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Moon. "They knew what to look forward to, and they were so excited."

But the day of the trip was Feb. 5 -- the day of one of the biggest snow storms in Allegheny County history. School was canceled and so was their field trip.

That was disappointing, Sister Rene said, but a second trip Feb. 26 was canceled by weather, too. Although it was a clear afternoon, snow was forecast at the time the children would be returning to the Moon neighborhood, so Sister Rene canceled again.

"They just had this look on their faces, like, 'Are we ever going to get there?' " she said.

They did, twice in March, and are scheduled for six more visits thanks to the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which has given the Mooncrest Association a $10,000 grant to cover transportation and included funding for the program in a $260,000 grant to Focus on Renewal, which owns and operates the arts center. The rest of the grant is earmarked for operational support.

"We're very grateful," Sister Rene said.

The children, in grades one-six, are split into three groups by age. One group spends the hour-and-a-half visit throwing pottery; the other two groups split time between a drum circle and dance.

"It's very therapeutic," Sister Rene said. "They love to do anything with their hands, and they're very musically inclined and artistic."

The center opened in 2008 as a way to offer the arts to children, especially underprivileged children. It has a theater, classrooms, coffee shop and art gallery, and has studio space for pottery, painting, sculpting, music and dance.

The Peace Camp, sponsored for the past nine years by the Baden-based Sisters of St. Joseph, was held there last summer with 75 children participating between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays.

"The idea is to teach children to respect themselves, to respect others and to respect nature," arts center director Pat Moran said. "We use the arts to teach those things."

Sister Rene brought her charges along. She runs the after-school program at Mooncrest, a generally lower-income community based in leftover war worker housing in Moon.

"It was the first time I'd seen the facility, and it's just beautiful, and provides lots of opportunities for my children," she said. "They love it! They love that place."

Sister Rene said of the 35 children who had been to Peace Camp, 35 signed up for the after-school arts center trips. "They had such a good feeling from the Peace Camp, we didn't have any kids who didn't sign up."

"It's about providing opportunities in the arts for children who otherwise probably couldn't afford them," Ms. Moran said. "It gets them off the streets and lets them do something constructive and creative."

"It builds up their self-esteem, to let them know they're worthwhile," Sister Rene said. "It lets them know there's something better out there. That's what we try to teach them, that there is always something better out there."

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