ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Detroit-area nonprofit Wish Upon a Teen hosted its 14th annual Evening of Dreams Prom on Saturday, providing teenagers battling serious medical conditions with a complete prom experience.
The organization ensures participants receive everything from formal attire to professional hair and makeup services at no cost. The event was hosted at the Emagine Theater in Royal Oak.
“These kids miss out on so much in their teen years,” said Nancy Sovran, Executive Director of Wish Upon a Teen. “We want to give them one night of pure joy and happiness and normalcy.”
For Patrice Tinnon and Lisa Galas, attending this year’s event was bittersweet. Both mothers lost their daughters to cancer in 2022, but came back to the Evening of Dreams Prom to volunteer.
Tinnon’s daughter, Roniya, attended the prom during her treatment for synovial sarcoma. She was a freshman in high school when she passed away.
“She was excited,” Tinnon said. “She asked her best friend John to go with her, and they had a good time.”
Julia Evans, Galas’s daughter, also participated in the prom after undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. She passed away at age 21.
“They come the day of prom and they get their hair done, their makeup done, and they just feel so special,” Galas said. “They do such a good job of making the kids feel phenomenal on this night.”
Even though it was hard to return to the event, both mothers say they wanted to help create meaningful experiences for other families facing similar challenges.
“Just to make somebody else smile,” Tinnon said. “To give hope to somebody else going through the same thing.”