NFL star’s foundation set up Beaufort church event to honor people with disabilities
For first-timers Courtney Kawchak and her mother Debbie Maloney Kawchak, the Lowcountry Community Church’s Night to Shine event on Friday was an excuse to get dressed up and open up the sunroof in honor of people with disabilities.
The two moved to Bluffton from New Jersey about five years ago, and have been pleasantly surprised at the sense of community, Maloney Kawchak said. When she posted on Facebook that she and her 26-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome, were attending the event, she received almost 1,500 likes and 120 comments, she said.
“I was so happy at the response I got from the community,” Maloney Kawchak said. “Everything is just so controversial, it’s nice that this wasn’t. There were no negative comments.”
The annual Night to Shine event began eight years ago and is put on by the Tim Tebow Foundation. Tebow, a former pro football player, was inspired by his parent’s missionary work to start the Florida-based foundation in 2010.
The prom-themed party is a way to honor people with disabilities from age 14 and older, according to the foundation website.
After almost a decade, the event now takes place all over the world. Beaufort County’s Night to Shine took place at Praise Assembly to God in Beaufort and the Lowcountry Community Church in Bluffton. Because of the COVID pandemic, the dance has transitioned to a virtual prom and a drive-thru parade.
Everyone who attended was crowned prom queen or king.
“She’s definitely excited,” Maloney Kawchak said before the parade. “She knows she is getting a crown.”
For Kawchak the part she was most looking forward to was the attention, getting dressed up and the excitement, her mother said. Her favorite thing to do, second only to going out to her favorite local restaurants, is getting her nails done.
“When she meets people, the first thing she does is show them her nails,” her mother said.
Kawchak made sure to do just that and showed off her purple nails the night of the event. After going on two years in the pandemic, the event is a way to let loose and have fun.
“It’s a way to celebrate these special individuals,” Maloney Kawchak said. “I’m proud of Tim Tebow for starting this.”
