Former National Football League (NFL) star Tim Tebow has just thought of a touching, prom-style evening of dancing and dining for kids with special needs on Valentine's Day called "A Night to Shine."
The idea has received praise from churches and different organizations across the nation, and thousands of people have agreed to support the event, which is aimed at highlighting God's love to children with special needs.
Tebow plans to give the teenagers the special treatment, first with a limousine ride to and from the event, a red carpet, shoe shines, and so much more. He explained that the goal of the event is to make everyone feel like a king and queen before God.
"Jesus is going to shine on this night, the churches are going to shine, and the special needs community will shine on this night," Tebow said.
He came up with the idea after the Tim Tebow Foundation conducted a similar event at a local church last year, and they were moved by the participants' reactions.
Erik Dellenback, Executive Director of the Tim Tebow Foundation, said that they decided to share the event to more people in the country after the success of the previous event.
"We wondered what would happen if we challenged churches to step up and make a difference in the lives of these special needs children, and the response was incredible," Dellenback added.
Rising Above Ministries, an organization aimed at bringing hope and cheer to people with special needs, is gung ho in the event.
"Part of our vision is reaching out to families, so when we learned about this particular event, we immediately thought, 'This is something we have to be a part of,' Jeff Davidson, Rising Above Ministries founder and CEO, told the Gospel Herald. "Our vision is to take this event and make it an epic, over the top and incredible night."
The event will be doubly special for Davidson since his 17-year-old son will be one of the kids who will attend the event and be treated like a king. He also praised the community's response regarding the event.
"What has absolutely blown us away and really speaks to the body of Christ is the number of organizations, businesses, churches, and groups who are flooding our office wanting to help, wanting to volunteer, wanting to donate prom dresses, wanting to get involved - it's truly become a community event," he said.
