Parish steps up to host Night to Shine

By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger

Night to Shine is a God-centered, glamorous prom night experience for people with special needs ages 14 and older held annually around Valentine’s Day. Underwritten by the Tim Tebow Foundation and local donors, more than 750 churches around the world will host Night to Shine on Feb. 7. 

St. John Vianney Parish-Bettendorf is hosting the Quad Cities Iowa 2025 Night to Shine from 6-9 p.m. at the Rogalski Center on the St. Ambrose University Campus in Davenport.

This is the Bettendorf parish’s first time hosting the event, which includes a red carpet entrance, dinner buffet, karaoke, corsages, boutonnieres, dance floor with a live DJ and emcee, gift bags, candy bar, photo booth, limo rides, therapy dog and the crowning of all guests. Our Lady of the River Parish-LeClaire hosted the first Night to Shine in the Quad Cities in 2017 and collaborated with various faith communities in subsequent years. Another Quad-City area church volunteered to take over hosting responsibilities in 2024 but declined to host again in 2025. 

Chris McCormick Pries, a Night to Shine volunteer and a member of the Bettendorf parish, said former event leader Jennifer Hildebrand contacted her last summer about the possibility of hosting. “The joy that both our honored guests, as well as the volunteers experience, is hard to describe and makes the hours of work that the volunteers commit to worth every minute,” McCormick Pries said. Father Rich Adam, the parish’s pastor, gave his blessing.

The capacity is lower than previous years to give guests the individual attention they deserve and reduce wait times, McCormick Pries said. It’ll take about 375 volunteers to give the 125 attendees the best experience possible. About 100 St. Ambrose students will join other local volunteers at the 2025 event. Organizers still need volunteers for a variety of positions, including food service, guest check-in and shoe shining. She also hopes to find a volunteer to coordinate the respite room, which offers caretakers the opportunity to relax while their loved ones enjoy the festivities. “They can have a massage, eat a meal, communicate with other families and really focus on themselves,” she said. View the full list of available positions at www.qcnight2shine.org/volunteer.

All 125 guest spaces are filled. Heritage Church in Rock Island, Illinois, is also hosting a Night to Shine event in the Quad Cities with limited capacity. McCormick Pries hopes that  three or four more local faith communities will step up to host in the future so everyone who wants to attend Night to Shine will have an opportunity to participate. She encourages anyone who misses out this year to register early next year.

McCormick Pries hopes that Night to Shine’s impact will expand beyond a single night and inspire faith communities to be more inclusive and to develop ministries for people with various abilities. “It’s not just having a dance every year. It’s about reducing the stigma, increasing awareness, bringing them into worship… are we accessible to all who come in our doors? There’s really an overall message of inclusivity in all of this, and this is really a celebration of inclusivity.”