Night to Shine

Night to Shine 2023 from Hope Health Action on Vimeo.

We had the extraordinary privilege to host the second ever Night to Shine event in northern Haiti! Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is an annual global prom experience centred on God’s love for people with special needs. On 10 February, we witnessed 81 honoured guests crowned kings and queens, each called by name and cheered on as they strolled down the red carpet!

Additionally, 115 parents and caregivers were honoured and encouraged. In Haiti, people with disabilities are often stigmatised and rarely, if ever, celebrated. One parent shared this testimony… “In Haiti, you don’t see kids with disabilities ever leave their houses. I didn’t know the party would have so many people in it. I loved how everyone was accepting of the children, and everyone danced together. Everyone was so happy, and there was no judgement! We felt that all the kids were safe and we weren’t worried about anyone being mean to them or staring at them because of their disabilities.”

Not only was it impactful for our honoured guests and their caregivers, but also for the volunteers. One volunteer shared this about his experience: “This was my first time volunteering at Night to Shine. I was a bit worried at first because I didn’t know how to dance with my buddy who was in a wheelchair. But once I saw how excited my buddy was to just hold hands and sway, we both really got into it! The party was a lot of fun, and I’m happy to have a new friend now.” 146 volunteers came together to make Night to Shine a memorable event for our honoured guests. From handing out name tags and serving food, to cheering at the red carpet and being a "buddy" for the evening - each and every volunteer helped make this event a tremendous success!

We want to express our thanks to those who partnered with us for this event: Tim Tebow Foundation, Hopital De La Convention Baptiste D'Haiti (HCBH), YWAM Cap Haitien, Emmaus House, Streethearts, Helping Haitian Angels, Footprints of the Son, Children of the Promise, and our very own HHA volunteers!

Brooke, our Disability Coordinator in Haiti, did an amazing job coordinating this entire event. She shared, “[Hope Health Action] works hard to teach the importance of inclusion in our community, and events such as Night to Shine do this in such a beautiful way. To have each child be specially crowned, called by name down the red carpet, and get to enjoy a party just for them is such a blessing. The smiles on everyone’s faces show just how meaningful the event was to them.”

In total, 342 people attended Night to Shine 2023 in Cap Haitien, Haiti. What a grand display of inclusion and God’s love for all! Here’s to Night to Shine 2024! For more information about this event, visit the official Night to Shine website.