Around 200 kids attended the special prom in Mid-City on Thursday night, sponsored by No Worries Now, which was one of ABC7's $7,000 Pay It Forward honorees. The charity ensures terminally ill teens get the chance to attend prom, a milestone many have missed.
"You feel like no one is judging you or anything, so that's why I really like coming here," said 18-year-old Alex Martinez. "At a regular prom, maybe people would look at me weird because I would be the only one in a wheelchair, but here, everybody has something, a story to share."
For many at the prom, it was a night of normalcy in a life full of challenges and hospital stays.
"Having a disability, it's not that easy to find someone who can relate to you, so being able to come and have fun and meet other people that know what you're going through is a great thing to me," said 22-year-old Sascha Lee.
It was a night of acceptance and joy, all made possible by the kindness of others.
"It's a chance to get together with people that know what you've gone through in the past and just to like hang out and just have fun, get away from all the negativity and all the harassment and cruelty that goes on in the high school world," said 19-year-old Eric Mandzuch.
Donations make it possible for No Worries Now to hold proms in four California cities as well as Washington D.C.
