Submitted by Jaynie Dillon Jones.
All South Sound families with Special Needs teens (age 14 and above) plus Special Needs adults are invited to next week’s Night to Shine, February 11 from 5 – 8 p.m. And, it’s free.
This extra-special event has been in existence for several years, but now with pandemic considerations in place, a lot of creativity has gone into making it happen this year while doing everything possible to keep the Special Needs guests, and hundreds of volunteers, aka ’buddies’ safe to make it a night to remember.
Guests choose to participate in either or both the virtual event and the “Shine-Thru” (drive-thru) or either format. The driver’s information and the first guest’s information are both required on the registration form. Online registration form and other details are provided by Harbor Christian Center here.
The church’s “HCC” (Harbor Christian Center) app is available for free from your favorite app store. If you visit the website or download the app, you’ll find more information on the “Calendar” page for February 11. Questions? Phone/Text: 253-853-4787
Ric Hansen is a Northwest radio legend and a longtime resident of Fox Island. He outlines some of the changes for this year’s Night to Shine: “We are staging a drive-thru parade for our honored guests (those with Special Needs). With a DJ, decoration station with bling masks, flower corsages, free box dinner, free Night to Shine beanies, gloves and much more… Plus, they are crowned Kings and Queens of the night…souvenir photos with Superman and woman. We are doing everything we can to make them feel loved!”
Hansen is well known from years at KTAC, KJR, KPLZ and KUBE. He also developed a national DJ company called Radio Parties contracting disc jockeys in cities all over the United States for weddings and other special events. The onslaught of Covid decimated the DJ business. However, his strong Christian faith led him to step up to take on a new challenge. With a love of people and being of service plus his decades-long background in music, there was a natural tie-in for this once-a-year, multi-media production involving a special event and Special Needs teens and adults.
The Tim Tebow Foundation launched Night to Shine as a commitment to celebrating people with Special Needs.
