The flashing cameras, cheers, red carpet experience and encouraging words are the moments that people with special needs rarely get the opportunity to enjoy. However, they get to experience these moments thanks to the Tim Tebow Foundation’s annual Night to Shine event, an evening designed to provide a prom experience focused on God’s love for those with special needs.

This year’s event unfolded at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, and it wasn’t how a night on the town would usually go for someone with special needs. For them, a night out can typically come with tension, stares, and rude comments from passers-by at a store or restaurant. They’re seen as a nuisance, not a valuable person.

Some people know those stares and rude comments all too well. For example, Daniel Ritchie, an author from North Carolina who spoke at this year’s event, was born without his arms. However, he can still accomplish routine tasks like eating, driving, writing, and using his phone, all with his feet. Still, he attracts negative attention when he goes out into the world.

People usually have questions about how he accomplishes these tasks with his feet. Some tell him he’s weird or gross to his face, while others try to take pictures of him sneakily, which isn’t new for people with special needs. People in wheelchairs are familiar with the stares as they browse their local Walmart. Some with special needs have loud, unexpected vocalizations that are met with offensive comments and shocked expressions. The world doesn’t understand or see the worth of those with special needs.

However, events like Night to Shine show people with special needs that their life matters. When the world tries to cast doubt on the value of special needs lives, Night to Shine tells people with special needs that their parents and God love them, and so many people see the value and preciousness of their lives. We should speak love and value over their lives in a world that tries to take from people with special needs.

Night to Shine gets it right on so many levels. These people with special needs are just that – incredibly special in both the eyes of God and in our eyes. They need to hear that value and love proclaimed over them because they do not receive encouragement from the watching world. They need to feel safe and comfortable as they venture outside their homes on a night like this and any other night of the week. We have to make strides as a culture so that this can be more than just one night for people with special needs to feel valuable and loved.

We have a fantastic opportunity to defend and love these lives. We have a chance to watch these amazing people shine. What some might forget is people with special needs are people too. They deserve to feel appreciated and loved, just like anyone else. Take any opportunity to give a person with special needs a night – or even a passing moment, to shine.