Night to Shine 2023
Rising Above Ministries served as one of the hosts for Night to Shine 2023 which took place on Friday, February 10 at Life Church in Cookeville. Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is an event hosted through local churches across the globe simultaneously and is an unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs ages 14 and older. Rising Above Ministries is excited to be a part of this worldwide movement that is uniting churches of different denominations all over the world with the common goal of celebrating people with special needs.
This year's local Night to Shine had over 170 attendees with special needs and around 200 volunteers who helped make it a night to remember. Every guest of Night to Shine entered the complimentary event on a red carpet complete with a warm welcome from a friendly crowd and paparazzi. Once inside, guests received the royal treatment, including hair and makeup stations, shoe shining areas, limousine rides, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner, karaoke, prom favors, and a dance floor, all leading up to the moment when each guest was crowned king or queen of the prom.
“It is awe-inspiring to see how God is using the Church globally to stand up and advocate for people with special needs. I truly believe that the world is coming together through Night to Shine to celebrate the love that God has for us! Every town, every village, every state, every country needs a Night to Shine for their special needs community—a chance to be a part of something significant and life-changing…and to be blessed in the process,” said Tim Tebow, founder of the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Night to Shine launched in 2015 with 44 host churches and 15,000 volunteers honoring more than 7,000 kings and queens of the prom. In February 2020, 721 host churches and 215,000 volunteers came together to celebrate 110,000 honored guests with special needs. Over the past two years, Night to Shine innovated and endured through the pandemic with the first-ever virtual Night to Shine, celebrating thousands of honored guests through unique adaptations including a complete virtual video experience and socially distanced Shine Thru drive-thru events.
Rising Above Ministries is one of 9 special-needs organizations around the nation who partner with the Tim Tebow Foundation as a Shine On partner. Shine On partners can provide extra resources to Night to Shine host churches and help them follow up with special needs families after the Night to Shine event.
ABOUT RISING ABOVE MINISTRIES
Rising Above Ministries exists to provide special-needs families with support, encouragement, inspiration, and community. The motivation to do this is based in the belief that God deeply loves all families and wants them to know that love in an authentic and meaningful way. Download their app to stay encouraged and up to date on all things Rising Above, https://subsplash.com/risingaboveministries/app.
ABOUT TIM TEBOW FOUNDATION
The Tim Tebow Foundation exists to bring Faith, Hope, and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. That mission is being fulfilled every day through the foundation’s seven areas of outreach, including W15H, Timmy’s Playrooms, Orphan Care & Prevention, Adoption Aid, the Tebow CURE Hospital, Team Tebow, and Nightto Shine. For more information on the Tim Tebow Foundation, please visit www.timtebowfoundation.org.