The Tim Tebow Foundation Night To Shine 2024 was spectacular!   People with disabilities and their caregivers face many challenges that often leave us feeling down but on this night, we were lifted up and celebrated!

An event like this requires exceptional people that have the compassion and drive to help people with disabilities.  I want to give a  heartfelt thank you to Immanuel Lutheran Church for organizing this wonderful evening.  So much care went into making Caitlin and all the honored guests feel like royalty.  They went above and beyond with blessing Caregivers with similar treatment, also making us feel like queens and kings. Thank you to the Tim Tebow Foundation for supporting the disability community.  We thank celebrities like Tim Tebow that use their platforms to bring awareness and to fight for people with disabilities.  

From the moment Caitlin, Scott and I pulled up to the church, we could already tell it was going to be a special evening.  The building was aglow with a dazzling display of lights.  Many volunteers outside set the tone for the evening with their warm welcomes.  Caitlin struck up conversations with the pastor and other church volunteers.  She felt the kind embrace of their words and immediately felt at ease.  

The first order of business was to check in for the event.  The line was going a little slow and we had to wait several minutes outside even though we had received a designated time slot.  We were thankful that it was an unusually warm February evening.  The purpose of the check-in was to review contact information, medical and special needs which we provided ahead of time.  The check-in was hectic but a necessary step to increase safety for the participants.

After checking in, we met Caitlin’s assigned buddy.  The volunteer buddy is assigned to accompany her for the whole evening.  Caitlin’s buddy was a sweet, pretty young lady named Zoey.   We spent a few minutes on introductions and going over some things to watch out for with Caitlin.  Because I had provided detailed information to the church, Zoey was already informed of Caitlin’s needs.  However, this was a good time to show her how Caitlin acts, communicates and moves and also to provide some reminders.  Zoey caught on quickly and they were prepared to have the time of their lives! 

Night to Shine is not just a dance, but an all-around prom experience, with multiple activities that are designed for honored guests to feel all the love and attention.  We navigated a few of the activities with Caitlin and Zoey before parting ways.

The first activity was the grand red carpet entrance.  The arrival of each honored guest was announced over the loudspeaker by name and a little bit of information about her/him.  Then together including her buddy and caregivers, we all made our entrance and walked down the long hallway.  Volunteers joyfully cheered from the sidelines, uplifting us with words of encouragement, inspiration and love while vigorously shaking pom poms.  Caitlin had extra pep in her step as she enthusiastically strutted the carpet, soaking in the thrilling, paparazzi-like atmosphere.

I had forgotten the little bit of information that I provided for the grand entrance.  Here is how it went….”Our next honored guest is Caitlin!  She is an in-car DJ who always wants control of the radio!”  The funny thing was that the announcer was a local radio personality, Shannon from Channel 955.  She was very amused and said “Is that you Caitlin?!  It better be on Channel 955!!”  We all got a good laugh from that!

Next, we picked up a fabulous wrist corsage from the friendly volunteers.  Then, we went to the hair and makeup area.  Caitlin chose glitter spray, crystal embellishments and blue tinsel for her hair.  She just loved all of the attention and interaction with the many volunteer stylists.  Our last activity together was the photo station.  We took a family photo and Caitlin took a solo picture.  She looked absolutely beautiful!

At this point, we went our separate ways.  Caitlin and Zoey went off to dinner while Scott and I made our way to the respite room.  Being separated from Caitlin was something new for us because when we attend  activities, we are always together and responsible for helping Caitlin.  It felt great to know that Caitlin was safe and having fun and that we could have a couple of hours for ourselves. 

The church organizers did an excellent job in helping caregivers feel comfortable with leaving their loved one’s in care of volunteers for the evening.  Prior to the event, they communicated frequently via email and encouraged us to ask questions or bring concerns ahead of time.  There were a lot of medical personnel on-site wearing scrubs so they were easy to identify.  I also learned that they limited the participants to 100 but had more than 3 times the number of volunteers.  Everyone working the event had gone through special training and were watching out for the safety and well-being of all that attended. 

When I heard “respite room”, I pictured a typical, bland conference room with some tables and chairs set-up.  But I was tremendously surprised by the reality.  The respite area was in their historic chapel.  It is a cozy, spiritual space… a perfect setting for caregivers to enjoy and relax.  Comfortable chairs and couches were available for lounging.  A delicious dinner buffet, snacks, desserts, beverages and mocktails were served.  Jazzy melodies of a live saxophone player filled the air.  Later we were entertained by the “Conductor”, a charming gentleman who told funny stories and ran the trivia game.  There was an over-abundance of giveaways from blankets to puzzles to cookies and candy to flowers and books.  The Conductor encouraged all of us to take as many items as we wanted.  There were also massages available if you so desired.  We walked away with armfuls of gifts and full bellys from all the food.  This was a totally unexpected “date night” and we enjoyed it very much.  We are so appreciative to the church for the detailed preparation it took to make this evening as enjoyable and stress-free as possible for caregivers.

If we wanted to see what Caitlin was up to, we were asked to join a “tour group” to visit the area where the prom was taking place.  They limited as much as possible the number of caregivers in the prom areas and my guess is they were trying to control overcrowding.  And maybe also a way to encourage caregivers to try not to hover over their loved one.  Part of me did feel like we were missing watching her (and I’m sure it would be allowed if needed) but at the same time we felt good that all of us could enjoy the event independently.  Caitlin left us earlier in the evening very excited to be with her new friend Zoey and we didn’t want to disrupt her experience too much.  When we checked in, Caitlin was just finishing up dinner.  They were planning on joining friends for a limo ride (they had several limos circling the parking lot as many times as you wanted) and then go do some dancing.  She was thoroughly enjoying herself and the company of new friends.  She was quick to say bye to us!

On our way back to the respite area, we couldn’t help but stop by the team of therapy dogs.  It was so thoughtful to have therapy dogs there to pet and spend some time with to ease any anxieties.  We also got a picture with the cast of Star Wars!  Their costumes were very authentic.

About 15 minutes before the event ended, it was time to go back to the main area to reunite with Caitlin.  We all gathered in the big gym and ended the evening with their signature crowning ceremony.  All the honored guests received tiaras and crowns.  Caitlin had the biggest smile as she received the tiara from her buddy Zoey!  We viewed an inspiring message from the founders of the event, Tim and Demi Tebow.  Then danced a little more to some final songs to end the evening.

On our way out we picked up even more gifts!  They had a huge bag of goodies for Caitlin and one for caregivers.

This evening was so memorable and we are graciously overwhelmed by the amount of attention, time and effort spent and gifts that they provided.  We all had a marvelous time and it exceeded our expectations in so many ways!