The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Worldwide Night to Shine event comes to Chardon
For the first time this year, Tim Tebow Foundation’s global event Night to Shine took place in Chardon.
On Feb. 10, the event for people with special needs hosted by churches around the world started at St. Mary’s and then proceeded to the United Methodist Church.
“We did a buddy match up and the volunteers met,” said Maureen Intihar, organizer of the event. “They had hair, makeup and all the pre party kind of thing at St. Mary’s, and they took limo rides down to the Methodist church for the dinner and dance.”
When Jody Baker, lead pastor at United Methodist Church, moved to Chardon, he brought the event to the city. Baker has previously participated in the event during his time as a pastor in Warren.
“There were 80 guests and then every guest gets paired, so that would be 160 people,” Intihar said. “We hosted lots of volunteers and caregivers as well, so either parents, people who work in assisted living places where our guests live and things like that.”
Intihar has worked in the field of developmental disabilities for a long time. She said it’s nice to be able to celebrate all of the guests in a special way because they don’t always have the opportunity to do so on a regular basis.
“It’s a celebration of them as people and giving them an opportunity where they feel safe to be themselves, and can enjoy all the different things that you and I may enjoy,” Intihar said.
One of the unique things about Chardon’s Night to Shine was that it was cohosted, Intihar said.
“It was an event with two different faith backgrounds coming together to put on an event for people of special needs,” she said. “That was a neat experience. It most places, it’s just hosted by one church.”
Most of the people the event drew were local and they also had shown interest in being a part of it again next year, Intihar said.
“We actually had to turn some people away because we were at capacity in terms of safety numbers,” she said. “We’re trying to brainstorm ways that we could accommodate more next year.
There’s a huge need for these types of events in our community. It’s people ages 15 through adulthood, so it can be people who are still in school systems and people who are living an adult life.”
The Tim Tebow Foundation launched Night to Shine in 2014. The first Night to Shine event took place in 2015 and was held in 44 churches in 26 states, as well as in three countries with 15,000 volunteers coming together to honor 7,000 guests.
“They dictate a date in February usually near Valentine’s Day,” Intihar said. “A lot of our people in the community don’t have that special celebration with somebody, so it helps them feel supported during that time and loved. We’re excited to have it here and to continue into the future.”