Night to Shine to provide special prom experience
Unlike other proms, everyone at the Night to Shine event will be crowned king or queen at the end of the night.
Sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, Night to Shine provides a prom experience for individuals 14 years of age and older with special needs. While this is happening in Birmingham at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church on Feb. 7, more than 600 churches worldwide will be celebrating the same event in a unified effort to honor people with special needs.
Once they arrive, each guest is partnered with a buddy that will accompany them to prom activities. The pair will walk a red carpet full of paparazzi and cheering fans as they enter the building to receive the royal treatment. There will be hair and makeup stations, shoe shining areas, limo rides, corsages and boutonnieres, airbrush tattoos, a catered dinner, photo booths, karaoke, dancing and prom favors.
“Toward the middle to end of the night, they will watch a video from Tim Tebow, and all the honored guests are crowned king or queen of the prom,” said Kala Waldron, the Birmingham event coordinator for the Night to Shine. “It’s the most special part, a reminder of how they are seen every day by their Creator, that they have worth and value and are seen and loved.”
This is the second annual event in Birmingham, and the response was overwhelmingly positive from last year’s guests and the community.
“This is a family event, and the feedback was mostly that these families don’t get the best care,” Waldron said. “It makes them be seen and loved and reminded they have value in our community. They are made in God’s image, and they reflect a part of God to us that we need and that we need to be reminded of. That’s the emphasis of the event and it’s important.”
While the guests are celebrating, their parents and caregivers also enjoy a night of fun with a catered dinner, live music, giveaways and pampering services from the Paul Mitchell School.
“They have their own thing and get away for a little bit and enjoy their evening, knowing their guest is being cared for and their medical needs are being taken care of while having the night of their lives,” Waldron said.
OMPC also has a program for special needs individuals, Mustard Seeds, that started the idea of having the event in Birmingham. Night to Shine will be at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church on Alabama 119 on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 6-9 p.m. Registration can be completed for both volunteers and guests at ompc.org/nighttoshine.
The event is still looking for community partners, individuals and volunteers to help out with the event. While a grant from the foundation does help out, engaging the community financially is a major part of the planning.
There are three dates for training sessions, which are mandatory for every volunteer. They will be Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.; Feb. 1 at 10:30 a.m.; and Feb. 2 at 3:30 p.m. All meetings will take place in the Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church sanctuary.
“Seeing the smiles and the joy and the laughter that fills the building, it’s something you have to experience,” Waldron said. “It can’t be explained. There’s so much life, and I just can’t wait to experience that again. It makes all the work worthwhile when you see the smiles and hear the thankfulness of the parents and caregivers.”