Night to Shine event held at Sunbury Bible Church

Feb. 10—NORTHUMBERLAND — Kimberly Weikel never attended a prom.

The 42-year-old Coal Township woman was emotional as she talked about the Night To Shine event at the Sunbury Bible Church on Friday night. Night to Shine, sponsored by Tim Tebow Foundation, is a worldwide complimentary event for people with special needs, ages 14 and up, hosted by local churches around the world.

"I'm getting teared up," said Weikel at the church located at 135 Spruce Hollow Road, Northumberland.

Weikel, one of 126 guests from Snyder, Northumberland, Union, Columbia, and Montour counties, said she looked forward to making new friends. She was escorted by her mother Henrietta Hine.

"This is great," Hine said. "They do a great job to make them feel special."

The night kicked off at 3:30 p.m. with a red carpet complete with a crowd, paparazzi and names announced. As each guest entered, they were crowned King and/or Queen and then guests received the royal treatment, including coat checks, hair and makeup stations, shoe shining areas, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner, karaoke, a dance floor and NTS tote bags filled with goodies.

The prom started at 5 p.m. with food and dancing. The church fellowship hall was transformed into a room for parents and caregivers to watch the events unfold virtually while the church gymnasium was transformed into the prom court.

Megan Johnson, of Selinsgrove, was escorted by worker Autumn Auman.

She said she was excited about "everything."

"The whole experience" is what Johnson enjoyed about previous Night to Shine events.

"I felt like it was amazing," said Johnson. "I've never been to any prom. Just the fact that it was real shocked me. It was so beautiful."

Auman said the event is "amazing."

"Seeing them all here having a great time is worth it," she said.

Christina Stickel, of Elysburg, was escorted by worker Cindy Moyer. She said she was going to dance and see the animals at the pet therapy station.

Her favorite pet is a dog, said Stickel.

Deb Brubaker, the organizer of the local event, said Sunbury Bible Church was one of 600 around the world that participated. The local event had 126 guests and more than 300 volunteers.

"We are here to celebrate people with special needs, to let them know they are loved and they're cared for and we appreciate them," said Brubaker. "This is a night created especially for them."

Brubaker organized the Night to Shine four years ago for the first time locally, but COVID-19 caused the event to move to virtual one year and a drive-thru another year.

Brubaker said her daughter Ashley has autism and was attending the event.

"When you see her and her friends, it's just amazing," said Brubaker. "Some of them have never gone to their prom because they didn't feel wanted. It makes it special when you see the smiles in their eyes."

Brubaker said she is grateful for the support of the Sunbury Bible Church, its elders, especially Dean Parry, the event co-coordinator, deacons, congregation, and Pastor Preston Atkinson for believing in her dream and helping create a Night to Shine in the area.

"We have great backing from our community from family-owned businesses to local organizations to major businesses including Cherokee Pharmaceuticals LLC (a subsidiary of Cherokee Pharmaceuticals), Charles B. Degenstein Foundation, Fern & Gladys Moyer Memorial Trust, Sunbury Community Giving Foundation, M&T Bank, and Evangelical Community Hospital," said Brubaker.

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.