An outpouring of love from residents and organizations helped create a successful Night to Shine event on Friday at Carle Place High School, said Cheryl Kelly, community care liaison for Beacon Church in East Williston.
“Everybody did their part,” Kelly said. “People from all these different places came together … to work toward this same goal.”
This was the first year the Beacon Church hosted the event, a prom centered on “God’s love for people with special needs,” Kelly said.
While it was largely a collaboration between Carle Place School District and Beacon Church, other volunteers hailed from all over Nassau County, Kelly said, including from Mineola, East Williston and New Hyde Park.
(Photos courtesy of Beacon Church)
Night to Shine is a Tim Tebow Foundation event that is held across the country and is hosted by different churches.
The Beacon Church applied to host this year’s Carle Place event in the summer, and was notified a few months later that it had been selected, Kelly said.
From there, months of planning began, Kelly said.
“I felt like God’s blessing was on us the entire event,” Kelly said. “From the first day, when it was only a thought in our minds.”
Every detail was planned and perfectly executed the night of the prom, Kelly said.
From the karaoke lounge to the dance floor, all the guests’ faces said, “Oh my goodness this is all for me,” Kelly said.
The decorating team began setting up at 8 p.m. the day before, Kelly said. The girls gymnasium was transformed into a space with lighted orbs hanging from the ceiling, a canopy of lights and fabric draping down and paper lining the walls that a graphic artist drew on.
(Photo courtesy of Beacon Church)
Guests arrived in limousines and were greeted by name by a man in stilts, Kelly said. Students from the Carle Place cheerleading team, drum line and Key Club acted as personal paparazzi as the guests exited the limousines, Kelly added.
Each guest was also accompanied by a buddy who was with the guest from the time he or she arrived until the night was over, Kelly said.
“It is so hard to describe the feeling, and now it’s four days ago and we are still so overwhelmed,” Kelly said. “It’s like we’re on cloud nine about how amazing the event went and just our community coming together just for this single purpose of displaying God’s love to our guests with special needs.”
Kelly said there’s no doubt in her mind Beacon Church will apply to host the event again next year.
“We’re already dreaming of what Night to Shine hosted by Beacon Church could be in 2019,” Kelly said. “And already coming up with new ideas because we’re just so excited and looking forward to the next time we could do this.”
