Chubbuck library holds special needs Easter egg hunt
Chilly temperatures and fresh snow didn’t stop kids from hunting Easter eggs.
The Portneuf District Library in Chubbuck held its first special needs Easter egg hunt Saturday morning.
Five thousand eggs, 40 volunteers and two months of planning is what it took for Amanda Bowden to put together the Easter egg hunt for kids with any type of special needs. She had some help in finding out what each specific need might be.
“I’ve had a committee of moms with kids that have special needs helping me with the logistics and everything and getting it all ready,” said Bowden, organizer of the hunt.
The library offered three special types of egg hunts. One was wheelchair accessible, for kids in wheelchairs only. Another was for the visually impaired, using eggs that made noise. Then there was a quiet hunt for kids who didn’t like the noise and chaos of the bigger hunts.
After kids collected their eggs, they turned them in for prizes and candy. Bowden said she decided to do this hunt because it was time to bring something like it to the community.
“Our library, I’ve always kind of wanted it to be a place where kids with special needs feel safe and feel welcome to come and play and enjoy the library atmosphere,” said Bowden. “So when I saw the need for something like this in our community, I just decided ‘hey if somebody’s going to do it, it may as well be me.'”
Besides egg hunts the kids could also get their face painted. There were balloon animals and even visiting princesses and superheroes for the kids to meet.
Miss Gate City was also there, helping check kids in. She gave each kid who signed up a personally decorated egg with treats inside.
Kids said they had fun and were excited with all the stuff they got, especially with all the candy.
Bowden said she was thrilled with how many people came out. She said she received a lot of support from the community when putting this together and she’s very grateful. Bowden hopes to do this again next year and make it an annual tradition.
