By Jessica Dillon
Stone Memorial Christian Church is once again hosting the Night to Shine prom, a special needs event held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation. This year’s prom will take place Feb. 13 at the New College Institute in Martinsville.
The annual event brings together volunteers and community partners to create a safe, celebratory prom experience for individuals with special needs ages 14 and older.
“This is part of the Tim Tebow Foundation, and it’s a special needs prom that’s all around the world,” said minister Tim Wood. “It’s for ages 14 years old and up.”
Wood said the greatest need ahead of the event is volunteers who can pass a background check, particularly those willing to serve as “buddies” for prom guests.
“Being a volunteer, we have many opportunities to serve,” Wood said. “The most needed is to be a buddy. And that just means that when our special guests get there for the night, you just pair up with them, and you just go and have a great time for three hours.”
Buddy volunteers stay with their assigned guest throughout the evening, helping them enjoy the full prom experience.
“All you do is just make sure they have fun — that they get out on the dance floor and dance, that they get something to eat,” Wood said. “We have limousines that are going to take them for rides around Martinsville. You just jump into a limousine with them, have a great time.
“We want them to feel like kings and queens of the prom for the night,” he said.
Additional volunteer roles are also available for those who prefer to help in other ways.
“You can help us with our food service,” Wood said. “We feed them a meal each night, and we need help making drinks. We need help decorating. Those are things that we do earlier on that Friday.”
Wood said the event draws participants of all ages, including seniors, and often creates lasting memories.
“The year before, we had a lady who came, and she probably was in her 80s,” he said. “When she got out of the limousine, she looked at us and said that was the most special night of her life. She said she never got to go to a prom when she was younger, and this was her first experience.
“We’ll always treasure memories like that,” Wood said.
Wood said he and his wife plan to spend Valentine’s Day at the event.
“That’s going to be our Valentine’s Day,” he said. “We will be having our time with about 150 special needs people in our community, so that will be the most exciting Valentine’s Day of the year for us.”
Community members interested in volunteering can register through the church’s website at stonemcc.com, search for Stone Memorial Christian Church online or on Facebook, or contact the church office at 276-647-8285.
