Christ Presbyterian Church of Ormond Beach hosted its third-annual Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, on Friday, Feb. 9. by: Paige Wilson Community Editor A night of royal treatment began with an escorted walk down the red carpet for 180 locals with special needs, as hundreds of volunteers applauded and high-fived the honored guests. Church Presbyterian Church in Ormond Beach hosted its third-annual Night to Shine at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Friday, Feb. 9. The event is sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation and gives people with special needs the chance to have a prom night they’ll never forget. Embry-Riddle cheerleaders and Navy ROTC students escorted the VIPs of the night down the red carpet before they enjoyed dancing, caricatures, limo rides, karaoke and dinner with friends. As soon as Rachel Goodpasture got in her mom’s car after last year’s Night to Shine, she knew she wanted to return in 2018. The Ormond Beach resident walked down the red carpet this year in a royal blue dress, sparkling in the flashing lights of the cameras surrounding her. “I like it a lot,” said Rachel Goodpasture. “There were a whole bunch of fans.” Her mother, Amy Goodpasture, said the night is the highlight of both of their years. “It couldn’t be nicer,” Amy Goodpasture said. “The volunteers are fantastic. The students from Embry-Riddle are just true young ladies and gentlemen. They’ve treated us like royalty from the beginning to end.” The night makes an impact on the guests, as well as their families. Jan Brock, one of the event coordinators with Christ Presbyterian Church, was excited to watch her 18-year-old daughter Casey Brock, walk down the red carpet. “It’s just a special event for the special needs community,” Jan Brock said. “A lot of these people — I know my daughter — wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend a prom, and so it’s very heartwarming to see this community come together, and the church, to support something like this.” Brock said she loves seeing the joy in Casey’s eyes during the event. “I don’t know a lot of them personally, but you can almost see them come out of their shells,” Brock said. “They’re high-fiving people, and they’re yelling. I just spoke to a young man inside and said, ‘You sure do look handsome tonight.’ And he said, ‘I know I do.’ So, it’s just a big self-esteem booster.” Kacie Fuller, the director of children and youth at Christ Presbyterian Church, said that the church hosted a “glitter boutique” the week before the prom where about 70 VIPs came to pick out donated dresses, tuxes and accessories for their big night.
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Christ Presbyterian Church of Ormond Beach hosted its third-annual Night to
Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, on Friday, Feb. 9.
by: Paige Wilson Community Editor
A night of royal treatment began with an escorted walk down the red carpet for 180 locals with special needs, as
hundreds of volunteers applauded and high-fived the honored guests.
Church Presbyterian Church in Ormond Beach hosted its third-annual Night to Shine at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University on Friday, Feb. 9. The event is sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation and gives
people with special needs the chance to have a prom night they’ll never forget.
Embry-Riddle cheerleaders and Navy ROTC students escorted the VIPs of the night down the red carpet before
they enjoyed dancing, caricatures, limo rides, karaoke and dinner with friends.
As soon as Rachel Goodpasture got in her mom’s
car after last year’s Night to Shine, she knew she
wanted to return in 2018. The Ormond Beach
resident walked down the red carpet this year in a
royal blue dress, sparkling in the flashing lights of
the cameras surrounding her.
“I like it a lot,” said Rachel Goodpasture. “There
were a whole bunch of fans.”
Her mother, Amy Goodpasture, said the night is
the highlight of both of their years.
“It couldn’t be nicer,” Amy Goodpasture said.
“The volunteers are fantastic. The students from
Embry-Riddle are just true young ladies and gentlemen. They’ve treated us like royalty from the beginning to
end.”
The night makes an impact on the guests, as well as their families. Jan Brock, one of the event coordinators with
Christ Presbyterian Church, was excited to watch her 18-year-old daughter Casey Brock, walk down the red
carpet.
“It’s just a special event for the special needs community,” Jan Brock said. “A lot of these people — I know my
daughter — wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend a prom, and so it’s very heartwarming to see this
community come together, and the church, to support something like this.”
Brock said she loves seeing the joy in Casey’s eyes during the event.
“I don’t know a lot of them personally, but you can almost see them come out of their shells,” Brock said.
“They’re high-fiving people, and they’re yelling. I just spoke to a young man inside and said, ‘You sure do look
handsome tonight.’ And he said, ‘I know I do.’ So, it’s just a big self-esteem booster.”
Kacie Fuller, the director of children and youth at Christ Presbyterian Church, said that the church hosted a
“glitter boutique” the week before the prom where about 70 VIPs came to pick out donated dresses, tuxes and
accessories for their big night.
“It’s one of my favorite nights of the year,” Fuller said. “It’s just so special that everybody can be honored in
this way, that all of our special needs folks can be honored and loved.”
This year, about 90,000 honored guests were celebrated at Night to Shine proms hosted by over 530 churches in
50 states and 16 countries, according to TimTebowFoundation.org. Tim Tebow made a surprise visit to a Night
to Shine in Peru.
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