The Abilis Youth Board is Hosting Together We Shine on February 28 – an Inclusive Evening of Music, Dance and Fun!
The Abilis Youth Board, made up of 40 students from 14 high schools across Fairfield and Westchester counties, is bringing a night of joy, inclusion and celebration to the 800+ member Abilis community with the upcoming 7th annual Together We Shine event being held Saturday, February 28, at the First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich. This year’s red carpet event will be a Mardi Gras celebration!
This event is made possible through the year-long fundraising efforts of the Abilis Youth Board, whose dedication creates a beautiful celebration. Leading the Abilis Youth Board and spearheading the Together We Shine event is Lily Breitfelder, a 17-year-old senior at Greenwich Country Day School and president of the Abilis Youth Board. Lily’s connection to Abilis began in elementary school when she helped run a lemonade stand with a friend whose uncle had Down syndrome.
“What I love most is how collaborative the Abilis Youth Board is,” Lily said. “We’re not just planning an event, we’re planning it with the Abilis community.”
That mindset is evident throughout Together We Shine. This year, Youth Board members invited Abilis community members to vote on a theme. Mardi Gras was the enthusiastic winner. To prepare for the evening, the teens recently hosted a maskdecorating event, creating colorful, glittered Mardi Gras masks sideby-side with Abilis community members. Those masks will serve as table centerpiece decor for Together We Shine — a detail that reflects not just creativity, but shared ownership.
“The Youth Board cares about every part of the experience,” said Virginia Blum, a special education advocate who leads the Abilis Youth Board. Throughout the past several years, Blum has watched the students take full responsibility for the event.
“These dedicated teens have been working towards Together We Shine all year,” she said. “Every bake sale, every fundraiser, every hour they give is about creating a night that’s truly about inclusion, friendship, and belonging.”
Luke Wells is a 16-year-old junior at Greenwich High School, who joined the Abilis Youth Board after attending previous meetings with his older brother Nick, who served before going to college. This year’s Together We Shine will be Luke’s third — and his favorite event of the year!
“The organization does so many wonderful things for the Abilis community,” Luke said. “Together We Shine is my favorite event. It feels special to provide a great experience to teens and adults who may not always have the opportunity to have fun at this level.”
Luke has helped raise funds by organizing bake sales in Greenwich High School’s student center and encouraging friends and family to support the cause. While he admits baking isn’t his strong suit, he emphasized the team effort and does his part by buying and enjoying others’ baked goods.
That same sense of purpose is shared by Stamford High School juniors Mia Boccuzzi and Florencia “Flo” Fortte, who helped establish an Abilis club at their school. Their club has hosted restaurant fundraisers, worked shifts at a Christmas tree lot, and helped Stamford High win the Walk/Run for Abilis Challenge Cup by raising $2,199, all to support Abilis’s programs and services.
“Fundraising is an important part of what we do,” Mia said, “but it’s also about awareness — helping more to understand the all that Abilis does.”
For Flo, whose family has personal connections to disability advocacy, Together We Shine stands out as the moment when all that work comes together.
“Seeing how happy everyone is at the Together We Shine event is what stays with you,” she said.
The heart of Together We Shine isn’t the red carpet, the music, or the decorations — it’s the Abilis community experiencing a night of pure joy fueled by the teenagers behind it— students who have chosen to spend their time creating a space where everyone feels seen, celebrated and included.
“They don’t see limits,” Blum said. “They see ways to connect and ways to make something special even better. And on that dance floor, thanks to them, everyone shines.”
The Abilis Youth Board is open to any high school student interested in supporting Abilis’ mission of inclusion and celebrating everyone’s special abilities. For more information or how to apply, please contact klair@abilis.us
