On February 7, 2020, 115,000 people with special needs attended parties all over the world thanks to the Tim Tebow Foundation. A Night to Shine is a safe and comfortable prom for people over the age of 14 with special needs. It started six years ago and has grown to include 721 host locations. One of those locations is nearby Real Life Church in Santa Clarita, which hosted 130 guests. The honored guests received hair and makeup, outfits, a red carpet walk, a gift bag, a limousine ride, and a “buddy” for the evening who hung out with them and made certain they had a great time. Food, beverage, a DJ, dancing, photo booths, everything they could expect at a prom but in an environment dedicated to the celebration of them. In fact, they were each crowned king or queen because sometimes it’s okay, even great, for everyone to win.
Attendees at Night to Shine.
Attendees at Night to Shine.
At this point you’re probably thinking, “This is really great, but why am I reading about it on SoCal’s blog??” Well, we’ve implemented a new thing here at SoCal Rentals. We don’t want to only be a quality rental house but we also want to be a quality neighbor, a quality part of the community. So throughout the year we’ll be asking our employees to nominate a charity event— we’d welcome your suggestions too— at which our staff can volunteer. SoCal Rentals already does charitable work by donating equipment to various charity events, but this is beyond that. This has nothing to do with our equipment or experience. This is getting our hands dirty. This is simply giving of our time and energy to someone who needs it. So on February 7, eleven members of SoCal’s team— from warehouse workers to executive staff— set up and tore down for a Night to Shine in Santa Clarita. They did grunt work so some people with special needs could party!
When asked about SoCal’s involvement at Night to Shine, Tim Hunten, President of Rentals and Sales at SoCal said it this way: “This is the kind of people— and the kind of company— we want to be. We want our staff to know that we care about what they care about. We want our community to know we care about what they care about. And we want our clients— you!— to know we care about what you care about.”
So tell us, where should we volunteer next?
