Night To Shine Returns to Kershaw County

The 4th annual Night To Shine event, a complimentary event for people with special needs over the age of 14, returned to Kershaw County on February 10th. This year's event was the largest yet, with 116 honored guests, 223 volunteers and 232 family members!!!

Organizer Kate Stines along with her church, New Life Christian Outreach, is the driving force behind the Kershaw County event.

"It was a night of God's love, dancing and enjoying being celebrated perfectly in God's eyes," says Stines.

Guests enjoyed Mickey's Memorable Moment, a shopping experience allowing guests to select Night to Shine items to take home. Guests also enjoyed Storybook Flowers, where they could make their own flower arrangement. Always a favorite, the Main Street Salon returned, where guests enjoyed hair and makeup plus shoe shinning. A 360 Photo Booth was on the dance floor, and it was well-utilized by guests, family members and volunteers to create a quick video for lasting memories.

Over 60 local businesses and families donated to us to make this night one not many will ever forget.

Stines is so grateful for this annual event that brings our community together.

"I am moved to tears more and more each year watching a community come together in truly the most special way...to unite hundreds...showing that truly where there's love and kindness, lives are changed," says Stines.

Photos courtesy Julie Jackson Prickett.

2023 Special Guests: John's Crazy Socks

John and Mark X. Cronin are the fatherson team that created John’s Crazy Socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. They bootstrapped their business into the world’s largest sock store earning them recognition as EY’s Entrepreneurs of

John is not only an entrepreneur, but he has also Down syndrome. Every day, John and Mark show what people with differing abilities can do – more than half their colleagues have a differing ability. They are fierce advocates for the rights of people with differing abilities having testified twice before the U.S. Congress, spoken at the United Nations and recorded two TEDx talks. They are members of the CEO Commission on Disability Employment. Their work has been featured on national broadcasts by CBS, ABC, CNBC, PBS, the BBC and Fox News.

They have built a business based on creating customer experiences and spreading happiness. John’s Crazy Socks has 240,000 Facebook followers and over 30,000 five-star reviews. John and Mark show their gratitude through their Giving Back program that has raised over $550,000 for their charity partners. Most of all, they are spreading happiness one pair of socks at a time.