Thank you for signing up to volunteer for Joy Prom 2023!

Just a little info about our evening….. Joy Prom is a full-scale prom for special needs adults ages 16 and above. We have 355 guests and 150 caregivers registered to attend. When the guests arrive they may be paired with one of our volunteer hosts or hostesses for their evening of fun. Guests will walk the Red Carpet while the crowd cheers and as their name is announced by our Master of Ceremonies, WXII News Anchor/Reporter, Jackie Pascale.  Once they enter the venue, there is even more fun and excitement in store!  During the evening, we will have professional photography, a photo booth, carnival style games, a bingo area, lots of delicious food and beverages, limo rides, and guests favorite…. Dancing!!!

Below this letter you will find several different resources that are VERY IMPORTANT for you to review. We encourage you to look at both the entrance parking plan and exit plan so that you are familiar with how traffic will flow on Saturday, the stadium map, as well as to please watch (or listen to) the volunteer training video in its entirety so that things can flow as smoothly as possible for everyone on Saturday evening

Depending on your volunteer area choice, please plan to arrive at the following times so that you may get checked-in, given directions, and in place prior to the event beginning:

Set-Up – *** Per volunteer time you signed up for ***

***** Set-Up volunteers ONLY may park behind the  stadium and enter in through the double glass doors and come up to the main concourse and sign in at the information table. *****

Host/Hostesses – 4:45PM

Carnival Games/Bingo/Photo Booth/Limo Attendants: 5:00 PM

Caregiver Suite Volunteers: 5:15PM

Food Preparation Volunteers: 3:15PM

Guest Dining Room: 4:45PM 

Dance Floor & Red Carpet Water Distribution Attendants: 4:45PM

Additional GENERAL Information

1.      When you arrive at the stadium, please enter the stadium through the entrance off Broad Street and follow the signs indicating where you should park.  Volunteers have been assigned to park in the back row of the main parking area or in one of the two parking lots adjacent to the main lot.  We ask that our younger volunteers park in the parking areas that are further out so that our older and/or physically disabled volunteers may park in that main lot. 

2.      After arriving, please proceed to the entrance gate on the 3rd base side.  There will be signs directing you to the Volunteer Check-In area where you will sign in and receive your name tag.  After going through the check in process, you will be directed where to go based off your volunteer assignment.  Please go directly to that area immediately so that you can be given instructions specific to your volunteer duties and you are in place and ready to greet guests when we begin.

3.      The main gates will be opened to guests at 5:30 PM at which time they are able to check-in if needed and then proceed to the red carpet waiting area.  Guests who have already picked up their name badges will bypass the check-in tables and will immediately be able to proceed to the red carpet waiting area.

At 6:00 PM, we will have a brief welcome announcement and will begin calling guests names down the red carpet immediately after that.  Our goal is to minimize the wait/line time and get everyone inside the stadium so that the party can get started!!

4.      Please be sure to eat something prior to coming to the prom.  While will have plenty of food available for our guests, volunteers, and caregivers, guests may not want to go to the dining area immediately upon arrival and we definitely do not want anyone to feel sick due to not eating.   We are providing bottled water to guests/volunteers/caregivers as they wait for the red carpet entrance to begin and encourage everyone to keep hydrated.

5.      Along the red carpet waiting area there are some small picnic tables.  Guests and caregivers are welcome to sit and rest in these areas if needed.  Please feel free to sit down in that area if you need to… however, please be mindful of those around you and please offer up your seat if someone else needs to sit down more than you do.

6.      We are cooler weather this Saturday so you may want to bring a light jacket or sweater with you in case you get cool.  The weather station is currently showing a 35% chance of rain on Saturday mid-day.  Please note that even if it rains, we will still have Joy Prom  We would only choose to cancel due to excessive amounts of rainfall, thunderstorms, wind, hail, or a natural disaster.  If it is raining significantly on Saturday afternoon/evening, we may need to change the entrance/check in areas and procedures.  Please just check back to this page for updated information should this happen as it will be updated with current information as quickly as possible.

7.      Please be aware Truist Stadium is a smoke/ vape free facility. Anyone who observed smoking/ vaping on the premises will be asked to leave.

8.      We have had many people ask…. “What should I wear????”  Most guests and volunteers (especially Hosts and Hostesses) wear formal or cocktail attire.  All guests, volunteers, and caregivers are welcome to dress in formal or cocktail attire as well (unless the area they are volunteering in has notified them of something specific that they need to wear for that area) but are not required to.  We do ask that volunteers do present themselves neatly and that you dress nicely in church/business attire or nicer.

9.      Please do not hesitate to ask anyone in a leadership position for help or assistance if you need it for any reason during the evening.  We are eccited to have you join us and are here to help and support you in any way possible.

We hope that you are filled with excitement and feel more comfortable with what to expect and what to do after reading the above email and watching the video.  We are so very excited about this year’s event and know in our hearts that it is going to be a beautifully moving and super fun evening for everyone in attendance!  We can’t wait to see you Saturday!!!

Joyously,

 Shelley Hundley, Executive Director

& The Joy Prom 2023 Executive Planning Team