Jennifer Dobson first met Tim Tebow, a former NFL quarterback, in 2017. She and her family were in Haiti at Night to Shine, an event sponsored by Tebow’s foundation that offers a prom-style celebration for people with special needs age 14 and up.
“That was before it really got going,” Dobson said of the event, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.
It’s grown a lot since then — on Feb. 9, Night to Shine took place at 725 churches across all 50 states and 56 countries.
One of those churches was Dobson’s — Valley Creek Baptist in Hueytown. This was their second year to host, but Dobson said she “fell in love with the movement” back in Port-au-Prince in 2017.
Personal connection
It’s a movement close to her heart.
Her daughter, Lily, who is adopted from Haiti, has special needs, and Dobson and her husband, Brad, first brought her to Alabama on a medical visa in 2015 to have a series of surgeries. A grant from the Tim Tebow Foundation helped bring her home, Dobson said.
And another grant helped Valley Creek Baptist hold Night to Shine.
“We’re a teeny tiny church, and it’s a huge undertaking to do something like this,” she said.
But in 2023, the church pulled the event together in three weeks. Dobson said her “sweet church” ministered to about 40 special needs adults and kids that year.
This year, they had 65 honored guests plus volunteers, family members and guardians.
20 Alabama sites, 8 are Baptist churches
They were one of 20 Alabama churches that hosted Night to Shine 2024. The list included Agape Baptist in Scottsboro, Bethel Baptist in Dora, CrossPoint in Trussville, Dayspring Baptist in Mobile, First Baptist Oxford, Shades Mountain Baptist in Birmingham and Thorington Road Baptist in Montgomery.
Each Night to Shine event starts with a red carpet walk for each guest and includes a dance floor with a DJ as well as other ways to enjoy the evening, such as a limo ride, hair styling and makeup, karaoke and a photo booth. At the end of the evening, each guest is crowned king or queen.
For Shades Mountain Baptist and FBC Oxford, it was their first time to host the event.
Hosting Night to Shine “was the dream of my daughter — she is 16,” said Ashley Alford, an FBC member. “She has always had a passion and heart and love for individuals with special needs.”
Personal vision
Ashley Alford said she and her daughter, Daley Grace, had served years back at a Night to Shine event and wanted to bring it to their church in Georgia, where they lived at the time.
“My daughter wants everyone to know that we are all special in our own ways and wants everyone to be treated well, and Night to Shine is a great way to encourage that,” Ashley Alford said.
But before the mother and daughter could get it started at their church in Georgia, the family moved to the Oxford area — and then COVID-19 hit. In light of the pandemic, TTF switched Night to Shine to a drive-through event called a Shine-Thru for 2021 and 2022.
Then in 2023, when it returned to its regular prom style, the Alfords served at one of the events at another church. Daley Grace Alford met Tebow a month later at Samford University’s “An Evening with Tim Tebow” event — the tickets were a Christmas gift from her parents.
“She told him about her dream of bringing Night to Shine to our community,” Ashley Alford said.
‘Unforgettable moment’
And then the teen got to work. She presented her idea to the church’s committees, then applied to be a Night to Shine host site.
After she got approved and found out she was the recipient of a grant, she recruited volunteers from local high schools and started getting supplies together.
And Feb. 9, FBC Oxford threw an event at the Bynum Community Center that had more than 115 honored guests and 120 volunteers present, plus family members and guardians.
Daley Grace Alford said it was an “unforgettable moment.”
“To share the love of Christ and see the smiles on the faces of all our honored guests throughout the night was priceless,” she said. “It’s been a really great adventure, and I am so glad that the church supported me in bringing this wonderful event to our local community for so many special individuals.”
For more information about Night to Shine, visit timtebowfoundation.org/night-to-shine.
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