Night to Shine provides unforgettable prom for local teens and adults with special needs
IMPERIAL — Just like every high school prom in existence, attendees at the Night to Shine event — a prom night for individuals 14 years and older with special needs — all had their eyes on set on thing: Who would be prom king and queen?
When it came time for the event’s royalty to be announced, each and every one of the approximately 120 attendees smiled in awe as they all received a crown or tiara.
“Everybody is a queen or king, so everybody gets crowned, that’s part of it.” Juan Benito, Valley Christian Church pastor, said.
Held Friday night at Imperial Valley College’s DePaoli Sports Complex, the second annual Night to Shine, hosted by Valley Christian Church in collaboration with the Tim Tebow Foundation, provided a prom night experience for Valley residents with cognitive or physical disabilities.
“A lot of the time, I think the special needs community gets overlooked,” Benito said. “Or because of their disabilities, they’re not able to attend an event like this because of the music or because of other circumstances. So this is an opportunity for them to enjoy their own prom night.”
Each attendee received a red carpet entrance into the event and was paired a volunteer, formally called “buddies,” to act as somewhat of a prom date for the night.
Even with about half of the guests being of adult and senior age, the event’s energy and liveliness perfectly matched that of a high school prom.
“We had somebody register who was born in 1939, I believe,” Benito.
The Night to Shine event itself is part of a worldwide movement by the Tim Tebow Foundation, which paired this year with more than 650 churches to put on similar events, also on Friday night.
Last year, only two Night to Shine events — one here and one held in San Diego — were held in California.
Although Valley Christian acted as the primary host, the local event was a collaboration of different churches in the Imperial Valley and their members, who helped either set up or serve as “buddies” for the night.
Through $1,500 raised by donations, the event was completely free to all attendees.
Valley Christian applied to the Tim Tebow Foundation and was accepted as a host church in 2018 for the event.
The decision to do so came from Benito’s wife.
“We have a daughter who has Down syndrome and autism,” the pastor said. “She’s little, but what we wanted to do is begin to host an event that she would be able to attend in the future. And that was kind of our motivation behind it.”
For those who attended Friday night, however, Benito hopes it served as a way to remind attendees and their families they are supported within the Valley.
“I hope they just have an amazing night and they understand that when they leave here tonight that they’re loved,” the pastor said.
Everyone working the event — from the decorators, the cooks, to even the county Sheriff’s deputies and medical personnel — was there on a completely voluntary basis.
The El Centro-based Styles and Smiles Beauty Salon set up a station where attendees could get their hair and makeup done.
Calexico resident Stephanie Sanchez, 16, was there as “buddy” for Annika Baez. She hope getting a makeover would help alleviate some of Baez’s shyness.
“She’s kind of been getting used to it for a while,” Sanchez said.
Although most “buddies” and their guests were paired at a firstcome, first-serve basis, Sanchez chose Baez as she knew her from school.
“Last year, from my circle of friends, I knew her and wanted to talk to her again and have fun with her,” Sanchez said.
Not shy at all on the dancefloor was Arely Saldana’s brother, who has autism.
“He’s been good,” Saldana, a Calexico resident, said. “We danced the first 10 minutes we got here. And then he wanted to eat as soon as the trays were opened. We had some pictures taken, and now he’s tired. But he’ll get up and dance right now.”
While eating, Saldana’s brother sat with headphones and stared at his cell phone as a way to block out all the commotion around him.
“It’s better to have an atmosphere like this because people with special needs are very sensory sensitive, and they can’t handle physical touch sometimes,” Saldana said. “This space is great, the noise is great and there’s no flashing lights. It’s very conforming to their needs, and I just think that’s really great.”