California Megachurch Joins Young Life to Host 'A Night to Remember' Prom This Weekend
Real Life Church in Valencia, California, and a local chapter of Young Life will be hosting "A Night to Remember" prom for students with special needs on Saturday.
Danny Caudillo, a spokesman for Real Life Church, told The Christian Post that Young Life Capernaum was one of five organizations the congregation chose to partner with this year as part of their 'Out of the Box' initiative "because we have seen what an impact it can make in these children's lives."
"Our sister church, Mission Church in Ventura, California, has put this event on for years, and we wanted to model our event after theirs," he explained.
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"Real Life Church has come alongside Young Life Capernaum over the years in helping them support and staff several of their events, so partnering with them for 'A Night to Remember' was a perfect fit."
"A Night to Remember" is expected to draw nearly 200 attendees, divided between nearly 90 honored guests and over 100 student hosts, the latter being paired with the former for the event.
There will also be a couple hundred volunteers helping out with the special needs prom in various capacities, including security and food service.
Nancy Pantellas of Young Life Santa Clarita Valley told CP that her chapter has sponsored Young Life Capernaum clubs for the past decade.
"Our Young Life Capernaum clubs are our Young Life clubs for teens and young adults with special needs. We nicknamed our clubs, 'Fun Life Club,'" she said.
"What started with four students with special needs at our first club has blossomed to over 100 now involved. Real Life Church has been supporting and coming alongside us all along the way."
Pantellas also told CP that while Young Life has sponsored several "Fancy Dances" for students and young adults, 'A Night to Remember' "will be a much bigger event."
"Our honored guests will enjoy an amazing night which is free for them and will include tuxedos and prom dresses, corsages, limo rides, hair and make-up, a red carpet and paparazzi, swag bags, professional photographs, dinner and dancing," Pantellas added.
"Real Life Church has come alongside Young Life Capernaum over the years in helping us to support and staff several of our events, so our partnership with them for 'A Night to Remember' was a perfect fit."
When asked by CP what he hopes attendees take away from the event, Caudillo of Real Life Church said they "truly want this to be the best night of their lives."
"We want our honored guests to leave only wanting to come back. We have been hearing so many stories from parents about how excited their children are to be going to prom," Caudillo said.
"What most people never realize is for many of these students, prom is never a possibility. Many of them will never be picking out a prom dress or riding in a limousine, but because of this event, they will get all of those things and more."
