Sick teen had to skip prom because of school bullies—then 120 bikers stopped by her house with the surprise of a lifetime
Being kind to others doesn't cost a thing and yet, some people continue to pick on those who are less fortunate. In 2017, 16-year-old Shannon Purcifer from England took a tough decision to skip her prom at school, per Inside Edition. However, Purcifer had a sad reason behind it. She had fallen victim to bullying at her high school. In a Facebook post, Purcifer's mother, Claire Carstens detailed why her daughter was skipping her prom. She also posted two black and white pictures of Purcifer in what would have been her ideal prom dress if she had attended the celebration.
"If Shannon had gone to prom tonight, she would have worn this beautiful dress. Thanks to nasty vile bullies, Shannon decided she didn't want to go and mix with people that made her so miserable," Carstens took a furious jab at the bullies through her post. She added, "For a girl who has had so much to deal with in life, such as coeliac disease, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis, she is one strong young lady with an even stronger mind! Love you, girl." Chatting with the news outlet, Shannon shared how she was often hospitalized due to her medical conditions and missed out on school for weeks at a time.
Her frequent absences and illness made her a target for bullies. "It was horrendous," Carstens told the new outlet. "It’d been going on for such a long time. I tried so hard to put a stop to it but the school didn’t help us. I just felt lost really. There was nothing I could do but let her talk to me." Before the prom night at her high school, Purcifer went up to her mother while sobbing and declared her decision to not attend the prom. "I didn’t really want to feel uncomfortable for the whole night," Purcifer said. "I didn’t want to miss out on the few close friends I have and I wanted to really badly. The bullying got worse and worse."
After that, Carsters put up her angry post on Facebook, clicking two pictures of Purcifer in her $600 prom dress. What followed after that made Purcifer cherish her prom night for all the right reasons. The Facebook post gained an overwhelming response from the online community and people from their community even started working towards organizing a separate prom party for Purcifer. Loads of strangers stopped by her house to help her with hair and make-up, did her nails and a team of 120 bikers from the Gosport Scooter Club arrived to escort her on the back of a three-wheeler bike.
"It was so overwhelming the whole day," Purcifer added. "I didn’t think that people could be that nice because of how horrible people had been." "The bikers came into the street. Everyone was coming out of their houses watching, wondering what was going on," her mom continued. The biker team took Purcifer to a local venue where other invited guests arrived, including the teen's closest friends and her boyfriend. "It was just so nice to see so many wonderful people, people we’ve never met before. People wanted to make her happy," Carstens said. "It was surreal."
Hundreds of people left encouraging and lovely comments to cheer up Purcifer on her special prom celebration. Leticia Olvera wrote, "You are a hero to all of those young people who are bullied and turn it all around. I was bullied before we called it that and went on to be a teacher to kids who were different and stood up to the nonsense. You are a HERO. Pass it on and share your story. Many kids need to read your story. Proud of you, girl. You got this done." Gypsy Delaluz added, "What a wonderous happy outcome! Love always wins!"