Warm up those voices, stretch out those limbs, and get ready for Northtown’s second annual “Thinking Outside of the Box” talent show.

Whether students wish to showcase their musical, theatrical, or athletic abilities, this talent show is a perfect opportunity for them to show Northtown what they’re made of as well as being able to help support the homeless throughout the community.

Northtown’s second annual “Thinking Outside of the Box” talent show was created by Spanish teacher Monika Rojas-Beck’s 2009-2010 freshman intervention class whose goal was to put together a fundraiser to help raise even more money than the original “One Homeless Night” event could raise alone.

“Although I am the ‘sponsor’ for this show, it had begun as a student-driven project. I’m so happy that they want to continue making an impact on the community. I’m just proud to be a guide,” Rojas-Beck said.

With such a catchy name participants are doing what they can to get the homeless out of their “boxes” by raising money as well as awareness for the many teenagers and adults who are homeless in our communities.

“One Homeless Night as well as our talent show are to raise awareness and raise money for the homeless through Cenergy Services and focus on realizing that it is truly a problem in our community,” Rojas-Beck said.

Last year, One Homeless Night’s talent show raised over $600 for Cenergy Services, and has high expectations for this year’s show.

“We hope to double our fundraising! Last year, the show was a great success and then again, any amount of money is good. The money that we raise for this show will directly show the effects of what we are doing for our community… it’s really eye opening,” Rojas-Beck said.

For students who are competitive but also like helping out the community, the “Thinking Outside of the Box” talent show is a great outlet to share their skills.

This is not just a talent show for singers or dancers; this is a talent show that is open to all varieties of talent.

“This year we’re making it a competition. We want to see all talent: dancers, comedians, ethnic fashion shows, magicians, poets, skits, anything that showcases your talent,” Rojas-Beck said.

For students who don’t want to show their talents on stage, they still can help the community by being part of a big audience for the show.

Northtown’s second annual “Thinking Outside of the Box” talent show will be held on Thursday Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets will be sold at the door for $3.