Terminally ill and disabled children reunited at prom
Acity-based charity, A World with Friends, held their much anticipated prom at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Wednesday evening, (June 1), for disabled and chronically sick young people. A World with Friends helps young people suffering with illness and disability come together and make friends.
The charity was founded by Lewis Hine, after having 13 brain surgeries and a lot of time spent in hospitals himself, he knew how hard it was to make friends.
Emma Smith, 19, from Portsmouth says: ‘I found my best friend at the 2019 prom, we have spoken almost every day since but I haven’t been able to see her. Thank you so much to A World with Friends for re-uniting us this year at the prom.’
The charity’s guests have faced more hardships than usual over the past few years. The pandemic made it hard for extremely vulnerable children to socialise and make friends within the charity due to their fragile immune systems.
Thankfully, the charity’s team continued the hard work through Covid-19 to ensure the children who usually attend the proms yearly did not feel isolated and alone at home.
The team regularly sent them care packages, filled with fun activities for while they were at home during these times.
The prom means so much to so many of the children who attend, to finally be able to organise another prom this year is a long-awaited treat and magical night for all who attend.
The night was kick-started by talented George Charway, 20, and Maxine Mcgee performing their own magical spin on Disney’s A Whole New Wor ld. The rest of the evening consisted of lots of dancing, photo booth fun, fire dancers and enjoying a whole room filled with sugary treats.
As the night came to an end, the blissful look of happiness filled the families’ and guests’ faces.
The prom would not be possible without its selfless volunteers helping year after year, making this special night for the children come to life.