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LABORS OF LOVE
A Very Special Prom—For one youth group, a mission to serve became a passion for service.
 Every August, Island Lutheran Church in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, gets all dressed up for the prom. A red carpet rolls from the sidewalk to the church entrance. As guests file into the fellowship hall, the youth group stands to one side and applauds because at this prom, the teenagers are the chaperones.
Since 2003, the youth group has hosted an annual prom with members of Programs for Exceptional People (PEP)—a local nonprofit for mentally handicapped adults. The youth group also holds a biweekly Bible study for PEP members.
The youth group’s partnership with PEP was inspired by HandyCamp, a weeklong summer camp for handicapped adults where the youth began volunteering a few years ago. The camp pairs up volunteers with campers to help with even the smallest daily tasks, including dressing for the day and helping with each meal. Upon returning, says PEP prom events coordinator Kristin Beste, “we wanted to get involved in something locally that’s similar.” And they did.
Inspired by a dance held at HandyCamp, the PEP Prom has it all. Youth group and PEP members alike dress in the finest prom attire and dance together through the night. “It’s a big day for them, it makes them feel very special,” says Beste. And not only that, she continues, “they get a really big kick out of it.” PEP members look forward to the prom all year, and at the end of the night, it’s hard to get them off the dance floor.
Both HandyCamp and the prom have given Island Lutheran’s youth group a stronger connection with a group of very special people, and taught them a thing or two along the way. “It’s taught me to have more of a servant’s heart,” says Beste.
—Jonny Grubb
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