MOULTRIE, Ga. — Prom night is one of many memorable moments in a student’s high school career. The Breathe Organization is promising the community just that as it announces a Night to Shine will return to Moultrie in February.

“The Breathe Organization is a local nonprofit that advocates for and assists families who have kids and adults with special needs,” Nettie Hatcher, the organization’s founder and the Night to Shine organizer, said.

One of Breathe’s major missions is to help churches establish special needs ministries.

“So often those families are rejected and left out. One of our big initiatives is to help churches learn how to make their churches accessible and how to provide a place to help families feel welcome,” she explained.

Hatcher found this was a major need for families within Colquitt County when she began attending Heritage Church. The program is still thriving, she said.

“We’ve been a nonprofit since 2017, and it’s vital for our families because resources are so hard to find when you have an individual with a disability. That’s what we do and after raising my daughter, I realized how hard it was to have a child with special needs. I’ve kind of devoted my life to helping other parents as they’re going through that,” she said.

Night to Shine is a national initiative that was kick-started by a Florida-based non-profit organization, the Tim Tebow Foundation. The foundation selected Heritage Church as its first church host location within South Georgia in 2015. The church remains a consistent host location in collaboration with the Breathe Organization.

The event will be held Friday, Feb. 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hatcher said organizers expect more than 300 participants of all ages with special needs.

The participants will experience “all things prom” as they go through fitting, beauty, and photo stations prior to entering the prom on the red carpet. Each attendee will be introduced and given a crown for the night. Dinner will be served at the event followed by a dancing period.

“We’ll just love on these individuals and help them to know that [and] acknowledge how special and valued they are,” Hatcher said.

They are currently accepting prom wear attire donations. The organizers are urging community members to donate men’s and boys’ suits due to a selection shortage.

The Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce is serving as a donation drop-off location. Anyone interested in donating outside of Colquitt County should contact Hatcher at 229-848-2685 for more pickup or drop-off information.

“We will be accepting donations all the way up until the event. It can be short dresses or long dresses. Some of our ladies like to wear full prom gowns, and some of them like just a nice dress. We can use everything,” Hatcher said.

A Night to Shine is free to attend and provides all services at no charge to the participants. The event costs are covered through sponsorships, and Hatcher is still accepting more sponsors.

Interested volunteers must register and complete a background check on the Breathe Organization’s website. The selected volunteers will be offered a short training prior to the event and must report to the prom site by 5 p.m. the night of the event. The training date has not been determined yet.

The website also features a short Night to Shine video available for families to get a preview of how the night will go.