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Free prom for students with disabilities across Ventura County seeking more volunteers, hosts, and attendees.

VENTURA, Calif.—Rosalee Gonzalez lights up remembering the sparkly blue dress she wore to her first prom.

“I got to wear a blue dress. It had sparkles all over the top. The back was kind of open a little bit, but I got to wear long black gloves with it. My favorite thing,” said “A Night to Remember” Assistant Director Rosalee Gonzalez.

Now, she, along with 1,000 other volunteers, makeup artists, and hosts are helping teens and young adults all over ventura county have a prom they will never forget.

“This is the best party of the whole year. Like, not even exaggerating. It's just a magical night and it brings so much joy and it's such a uniting thing for our community. It's the best,” “A Night to Remember” Co-Director Becky Baker.

The night of pampering includes complementary dresses and tuxedo rentals, hairstyling, makeup and corsages, limo rides, and a walk down a red carpet cheered on by paparazzi.

Each guest is accompanied by a student host from the community, given a formal photo, delicious cuisine, and a fun filled night of dancing with a professional DJ.

“This event gets to really celebrate and shine a light on a community that is typically overlooked and under celebrated in our community, which is our students with disabilities. And, you know, disability is a term that kind of has a whole range in that where there are some that have physical disabilities and maybe mental disabilities. We love that this night we get to shine the light on them. We get to make them the center of attention,” said “A Night to Remember” Director Taylor Hunt.

Over 250 students with disabilities have already signed up, but there are still 250 spaces open for students of all abilities to enjoy their first prom.

“There's so many different kinds of disabilities and so someone with a physical disability that puts them in a wheelchair is really obvious to see. But so many more disabilities and diagnoses are things that we can't see just in the way that someone exists in the world, right? That things that are going on in their brains are in their bodies, that in some way keep them from participating in some aspect of life that most of us would consider really normal,” said “A Night to Remember” Co-Director Becky Baker.

Mission Church says they are looking for 300 more student hosts to accompany these guests and 400 more volunteers.

Dress selections will be taking place this Saturday from 9 am to noon at mission church where guests can come pick out their own prom dress from over 500 options.

Male guests can get a free tuxedo rental from mission tuxedo in Ventura or Santa Barbara.

“A Night to Remember” will be taking place at the Ventura County Fairgrounds Friday, March 8th.

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Mina Wahab

Arab-American producer & reporter with a mission to dig deep in interviews, share authentically, shed light on the issues that matter, and provoke deep thought.

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