Joy Prom

Friday night, two hundred individuals with special needs, along with their family members, caregivers, and five hundred volunteers, packed the ballrooms of the M Resort for Joy Prom.  What started as an idea within our church of eighty people grew to include 17 community partners and an investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars!  Guests were treated to shoe shines (men) by UNLV football players, hair and makeup (women) by M Resort Spa Salon staff, flowers, professional photographs (with a UNLV football player or cheerleader, if desired), dinner, and dancing.  My favorite part to watch was the walk down the red carpet, complete with interviews by the emcee, paparazzi bulbs flashing, and fans asking for autographs. Our guests were CELEBRITIES!  Talk about "only in Vegas": guests could even pose for pictures with (fully-dressed, of course) "champagne showgirls"!  Family members and caregivers could enjoy the festivities or take a break in the hospitality room stocked with drinks and snacks.  

All of our church members worked so hard, knowing that we were ministering not only to our guests with special needs, but also to their family members, the outside volunteers, and the community partner representatives.  I am so proud to see our church members sharing Christ by loving people in tanglible ways.

Photographer Scott Roeben has some excellent photos on his blog here and a bigger collection at Shutterfly here (you can even see Sam and I asking for autographs in one of the pictures on the first page).  The Las Vegas Sun has an article here and pictures here, and here's an article about the UNLV football players who shined shoes at the event.  Fox 5 News covered the event live and posted a video here.