People with disabilities enjoy Night to Shine prom event

Feb. 11--JEFFERSONVILLE -- Loray Washer's daughter prepared for prom like most girls do: getting her nails done and fussing over her dress with her girlfriends.

Washer smiled as she talked about her daughter over a plate of food with a friend in the back rooms of Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville.

A few hundred feet away, she knew her daughter was probably dancing to pop songs with her group.

"It's kind of nice to sit back and watch," Washer said. "Let her go. She doesn't want her mom around. She wants to be out there with the rest of her friends."

Washer's daughter was one of the 196 people with special needs who attended Eastside Christian's Night to Shine, a Tim Tebow sponsored prom night experience that over 540 churches across the world participated in this year.

"It's great for the kids because they get excited," Washer said. "They don't have a lot of activities to go and places to see."

Eastside Christian only planned for 145 guests for their first year organizing the event, but when more showed up, the church didn't turn them away, even though it meant an extra sweet tea run.

The guests, who ranged in age from 14 to 75, started out their evening by walking down a red carpet with an assigned "buddy" to a bevy of photographers and the cheers of waiting volunteers.

Linda Goff, an Eastside Christian congregation member, clapped her hands for the guests.

"We just feel excited as a church to be able to do this for them," she said. "...It's just been fun to see all of them come down the red carpet, and I don't know, we're just happy to be here."

After getting their picture taken, guests were given the option to enter an improvised beauty parlor to for hair and makeup work, as well as free jewelry bought by the church. But most guests went straight to the church's gym, which had been transformed with a disco ball, lots of tulle and heavy music into an energetic dance party.

In the corner, a photo booth allowed guests to don silly outfits. That's where Josh Donaway and Chelsea Kaltofen, two guests, found themselves. Donoway went to his high school's prom, but Night to Shine was better, he said.

"It's good to see all the different people come together as one group and show much we love them as a regular human," he said.

In a quieter side room, guests were invited to play board games and sing karaoke.

David Mann looked on as his buddy attempted a Hannah Montona song. He drove two hours from Indianapolis to volunteer at Night to Shine at the suggestion of his brother, who helped last year.

"I didn't have any idea what to expect, and this is certainly exceeding my expectations," he said. "And to see the look on their face and the happiness they're having, it softens my heart."

Next year, he hopes to bring his daughter down to volunteer with him.

The most important thing about Night to Shine to Washer, the mom who brought her daughter to the event, is that people realize that individuals with disabilities want to go places and have fun just like everyone else.

"They want to be out there," Washer said.

Mark Hublar, a New Albany resident with down syndrome who travels the country advocating for others with disabilities, agreed.

He attended Night to Shine in a sparkling red vest and a buddy on his arm. As a baby, a doctor advised Hublar's mother to put him into an institution, but she refused, instead choosing to raise him with his brothers. Throughout his life, Hublar's family has encouraged him to look beyond the options that others gave him: even when it comes to leisure.

People of all types like to go out and have fun Hublar said. In that way, "prom is everything."

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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