SPARC at Night To Shine
Source/Author: SPARC Club Members
February 14, 2019
Night to Shine is an unforgettable prom night experience for people with special needs ages 14 and older. On February 8, 2019, the fifth annual Night to Shine was hosted by 655 churches from around the world for approximately 100,000 honored guests through the support of 200,000 volunteers! Night to Shine is sponsored by The Tim Tebow Foundation. A few members of Shorecrest's Upper School SPARC Club volunteered at the event and two share their thoughts below.
by Samia Hossain '21:
This was my first year attending Night To Shine and it could not have been better. I remember first hearing about the event last year, but could not attend due to prior plans. This year I was super excited because I knew I could go. The prom this year was at the Kapok Center in Clearwater, Florida. Night to Shine started for me around 4:30pm when all of the volunteers gathered together to go over the plan for the night. Then around 5:30pm we gathered by the red carpet and cheered on the special guests. My job was to be a buddy or “date” for one of the special guests. Surprisingly, I got paired with 5 guests, but one of my friends helped me throughout the night. The guests that I was paired with were so intelligent and enthusiastic the entire night. It was such an amazing experience to be surrounded by such a positive atmosphere where everyone was giving compliments and dancing together.
At the end of the night there was a balloon drop and everyone cheered. It was such a surreal moment to be surrounded by complete strangers who danced with you like you were their best friend! Night To Shine was definitely a memory I loved making this year and I plan to attend next year too!
by Grace Salter '22:
Being a part of Night to Shine is probably something that I’ll look forward to all year. It was held in the Kapok Center, which is enough to take your breath away. The event featured an Ancient Greece theme: beautiful statues and small waterfalls on the outside, a beautiful ballroom with plenty of open space and a grand staircase on the inside. I was paired with the sweetest guy named Jeff — and it was so much fun to hang out with him. Walking down the red carpet, everybody cheered for us and were smiling the entire time, and it was a really cool experience.
After I waited in line with him so he could get a caricature with his friend, we got pictures together at a photo booth, and the entire thing was just so much fun that we both had smiles the entire night. He really loved the limo ride since he’d never been in one before, and he talked the entire time — but the most fun was dancing! Jeff loved music and his girlfriend was there too, so her buddy and I let them dance together for a little while and they were grinning and talking and just having fun. The only way to really sum up Night to Shine is happy. The entire thing just has such a warm vibe that you don’t realize how much time is passing. By the end, no one really wanted to leave quite yet and I wished it was more than just once a year. I hope I get the same buddy next year because Jeff was so easy to be friends with, and I hope I talk to him more before the next event.
After I waited in line with him so he could get a caricature with his friend, we got pictures together at a photo booth, and the entire thing was just so much fun that we both had smiles the entire night. He really loved the limo ride since he’d never been in one before, and he talked the entire time — but the most fun was dancing! Jeff loved music and his girlfriend was there too, so her buddy and I let them dance together for a little while and they were grinning and talking and just having fun. The only way to really sum up Night to Shine is happy. The entire thing just has such a warm vibe that you don’t realize how much time is passing. By the end, no one really wanted to leave quite yet and I wished it was more than just once a year. I hope I get the same buddy next year because Jeff was so easy to be friends with, and I hope I talk to him more before the next event.
by Samia Hossain '21:
This was my first year attending Night To Shine and it could not have been better. I remember first hearing about the event last year, but could not attend due to prior plans. This year I was super excited because I knew I could go. The prom this year was at the Kapok Center in Clearwater, Florida. Night to Shine started for me around 4:30pm when all of the volunteers gathered together to go over the plan for the night. Then around 5:30pm we gathered by the red carpet and cheered on the special guests. My job was to be a buddy or “date” for one of the special guests. Surprisingly, I got paired with 5 guests, but one of my friends helped me throughout the night. The guests that I was paired with were so intelligent and enthusiastic the entire night. It was such an amazing experience to be surrounded by such a positive atmosphere where everyone was giving compliments and dancing together.
At the end of the night there was a balloon drop and everyone cheered. It was such a surreal moment to be surrounded by complete strangers who danced with you like you were their best friend! Night To Shine was definitely a memory I loved making this year and I plan to attend next year too!
