Jeffersonville church hosting its first prom for people with disabilities

Feb. 07--JEFFERSONVILLE -- Aquila Bock can recall his prom experience, but not because it was particularly memorable.

"It was kind of an afterthought," he said. "If we go, we go. If we don't, we don't."

But for teenagers and adults with special needs, Bock realizes that the night he took for granted might have meant something more to them -- and even more unfairly, some might have been unable to experience it.

That's part of the reason behind Night to Shine, a prom night experience sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation in which more than 540 churches from around the world, including Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville where Bock is a worship pastor, will be participating on Friday, Feb. 9.

So far, 128 people with special needs ranging in age from 14 to 75 have signed up for the event.

"Just being able to provide an outlet for them to do something that may have seemed simple for us will be huge for them," said Bock, who is also volunteering the night of the prom.

At Night to Shine, participants will be treated like royalty -- just like how they're seen by God, said Eastside Community and Outreach Pastor David Parkerson, who was the one who agreed to take over the annual event from Refuge Church in Charlestown, which couldn't organize the prom this year after two years of doing so.

"That's [Tebow's] number one goal, is for you to come away feeling like you were spoiled for an evening and you felt like a king and a queen," Parkerson said.

With the help of 320 volunteers, Parkerson's church is literally rolling out the red carpet for its guests. They'll walk down an 80-foot runway after arriving, stopping in front of a group of cheering volunteers for pictures from a professional photographer.

Accompanied by an assigned "buddy," a platonic version of the traditional prom date, guests will be able to dance in the church's decorated gym to DJ music, get their hair done or shoes shined, sing karaoke, play games, snack on catered food and even take short rides in a provided limo.

Eastside Christian hosted, but didn't organize, Night to Shine last year and Parkerson remembers wandering around the busy scene, getting a feel for what the event was like.

"It was just a joyful, fun time," Parkerson said. "It was just, everybody was smiling. They were dancing in here, they were eating food."

In other rooms, the guests' caretakers were being catered, too, as well, so they could enjoy a night to themselves.

The Tim Tebow Foundation, which started Night to Shine four years ago, gave Eastside final approval to host the event in September, and Parkerson has been slowly cobbling the event together since then. That has included hosting an orientation for each of the volunteers to get trained in things, such as how to properly speak about a person with special needs.

Parkerson is already thinking about what next year's Night to Shine will be like. The event just seems to suit his church and mission: not only does it help people that are typically thought of as on "the fringes of society," in Parkerson's words, but it's bringing the community together, too.

Volunteers from New Hope Services, the school systems and other secular organizations that help people with special needs are all going to be a part of Night to Shine.

"We're not ashamed that we love Jesus, but we also know that not everybody does," Parkerson said. "And that doesn't mean that we can't work with you, and we can't come together for some common good."

Eastside's congregation has also gotten behind the event. Parkerson likes to plan three big events each year, but his winter ideas have always failed to enthuse. Night to Shine resonated in a way his other plans hadn't.

"As soon as we told our people that we were doing Night to Shine, like, there was just this clap," Parkerson said. "Like, 'I can't believe we're going to do Night to Shine. This is awesome.'"

Eastside will be allowing guests to register for Night to Shine up until when the event begins. They can do so online at discovereastside.com or just show up to the church at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Danielle Grady is the business and economic development reporter at the News and Tribune. Contact her via email at danielle.grady@newsandtribune.com or by phone at 812-206-2137. Follow her on Twitter: @dgrady1222.

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