Residential's "Winter Wonderland" Prom
Staff applauded as each youth entered the snowflake-decorated gym. The girls were in pretty dresses, and the guys were in crisp shirts and ties. UMCH staff did a great job of getting donations for each of the girls’ dresses, and making sure the boys had something nice to wear. Earlier in the week, the girls had appointments for manicures, and the day of the dance, they all had their hair done. They looked great, smiling for pictures and ready to enjoy the evening.
The evening began with staff serving dinner to the youth. Earlier in the month they had the opportunity to plan for this event by discussing etiquette and manners in a formal dinner setting. After dinner, the youth took turns posing in front of a backdrop of snowflakes and twinkling lights. They each now have their very own Prom photo to keep.
A DJ played music throughout the night. The girls were the first to the dance floor,having fun singing and dancing to songs that they knew. Staff joined in on the fun, and encouraged some of the boys to join everyone on the dance floor for a few line dances. For the youth that did not want to dance, there was a game table set up for staff and youth to play card games and color pictures.
As the evening came to a close, the youth thanked the staff for a wonderful evening. One of the girls, who is 19 and a senior at our Quest School, said that she had never been to a school dance, and really enjoyed being able to dress up and have fun.