By Julie Arduini

Hannah Arduini

Of the many things people associate me with—wife, mom, author, speaker—I think a big part of my heart belongs to encouraging young people. I help out with our church’s youth group and there is so much potential with those teens. My husband and I also love to open up our home to young people. We’ve had game nights, all-night video games, spontaneous pizza gatherings, birthday parties and more. Of all my favorite young people stories, a very recent one instantly comes to mind.

Our church is one of the hundreds of locations that hosts the Night to Shine Prom for people who have disabilities. Sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, we have coordinators and an amazing team who work throughout the year to make sure each guest truly shines the Friday before Valentine’s Day.

Our family is involved in two ways. One, our daughter is a guest. She has a series of health challenges and a rare disease diagnosis that make keeping up with peers difficult. Night to Shine is a highlight because she is pampered, like all the guests, with corsages, hair, make-up, red carpet treatment, limo ride, dinner, dancing, karaoke, games, a message from Tim, and her favorite, receiving the crown.

Our son and my husband serve as tech support. They capture video footage, help with live streaming, and sound. I serve in the parent respite room where parents are given a catered dinner, are able to watch their loved ones on the dance floor thanks to the live stream, have access to a coffee bar, desserts, and movies.

This year, there was a change in the catered dinner, and the business that usually donates wasn’t able to. Our son and his best friend work at Belleria Pizza in Struthers, Ohio, and they went to their boss and asked if the restaurant could help fill the gap. The two young men secured a cavatelli and meatball meal to serve the volunteers and the guest parents.  The donation served close to 200.

The boys taking the initiative to have dinner provided blessed so many. I was able to see first hand the parents delight as they had one less thing to worry about on a Friday night. Handing their child off for the prom is hard, I know, because I am a parent that has to do the same thing. We are so used to care giving and providing their needs that it’s very different to have a couple hours with nothing to do. To watch parents have a full meal, beautiful tables set up to relax, the families were as pampered as the guests. It also lightened the load for the leadership team. Our son’s friend saw the donation through from handing off the letter to picking up the trays of food and personally delivering them to the church.

Click to tweet: Night to Shine Prom is a global event that has captured our heart. #kindnessmatters #Prom

There are hundreds of volunteers of all ages who serve with love. This year, the random act of kindness from those young men filled our stomachs, too.

Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and —maybe one day—the chocolate. She’s the author of the contemporary romance series SURRENDERING TIME, (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged.) She also shares her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. Her latest release, YOU’RE AMAZING, is a book for girls ages 10-100, written with her teenaged daughter, Hannah, and is book 2 in their SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ series. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, as well as monthly with Inspy Romance. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her at http://juliearduini.com, where she invites readers to subscribe to her monthly newsletter full of resources and giveaway opportunities.

Find Julie on Facebook, Twitter,  G+, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Goodreads, Amazon, and her Monthly Newsletter.

You’re Amazing Book 2, Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’

By Julie Arduini/Hannah Arduini

Jazmin’s a natural at dance until a series of changes make her wonder if she should even keep up with her favorite hobby. Lena’s a mom with young children overwhelmed with her schedule when a woman remarks that what Lena does isn’t even important. Both Jazmin and Lena belong to Linked, a mentoring ministry where all ages encourage each other and build friendships. Can these two surrender the lies they are believing and realize they are amazing?

A novella for tweens, teens, and women of all ages by mother and daughter team Julie Arduini and Hannah Arduini.

Order You’re Amazing:

https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Amazing-Surrendering-Stinkin-Thinkin-ebook/dp/B07M7D6HSV