Over 100 children enjoyed an Easter Hunt over Good Friday and Easter Saturday in our community.
All the locations were around the Rise, where hidden letters spelt out a secret word. The parents then submitted the word to receive your special treats from the Easter bunny on the morning of Easter Sunday.
My mother and I, along with the help of the other community members, raised £268 for the Ellenor Hospice. A special thank you goes to Kiddiecare, H&R Salon, The Co-op, Istead Rise Pharmacy, Forever Daizy’s and the Istead Rise Community Association for their donations and to Christine Hogg and the Yarn Bomb ladies who helped make some of the prizes. Over 60 chicks, rabbits and lambs to hold Cadbury Creme Eggs were knitted in under 4 weeks.
The response by residents was heart-warming, with pictures and messages of gratitude posted on social media, especially after the Easter Bunny deliveries on Easter Sunday morning.
Here’s what the participants had to say:
Stacey Maria Westport commented, “thank you Easter Bunnies for the wonderful gift and fun Easter letter hunt! My son was so surprised this morning with what the Easter bunny had left him on the front door step, had such a wonderful day”.
Candy Adams, “thank you so much. It was great fun! The children loved their delivery from the Easter bunny and a good amount raised for a worthy charity”.
Lisa O’Neil, “we loved taking part and it was a great way to see the community come together to support such a much needed charity, same time next year”!
Jenny Sawell-Gerrish, “thank you so much! Theo was very excited to see if the Easter Bunny had come this morning”.
Sarah Cullern, “thank you, love the knitted chicks”.
Amity Walia, “thank you so much to the fantastic Easter bunny for our delivery this morning. We have two very happy boys”.
Anna Sinclair, “thank you – we enjoyed doing this and loved the doorstep delivery. Great idea”.
Ellie Leigh Horton, “the boys and I had a lovely day looking for all the Easter clues, it was so nice to see all the community joining in, it was so much fun”.
Emma Hawkins, “thank you so much for organising such a fun activity. Corbyn, Otis and Seren all had great fun hunting down letters. We saw lots of fellow hunters out and about which created a lovely sense of community spirit. My eldest proudly solved the puzzle and were so happy with their delivery from the Easter bunny”.
Kirsty Knopp, “massive thank you to Harriet Howes and everyone who helped with the Easter hunt. My daughter had a fab time and was so excited to find her egg on the doorstep this morning. The little knitted chick is adorable! Thank you all”.
An event like this takes such a lot of preparation behind the scenes, from the registration of participants and confirmation of their booking, to the labelling and delivery of the Easter goodies. This event would not have been such a success without the help from the businesses and other members of the community. I really can’t thank them enough for their donations, which allowed us to raise as much money as we have for Ellenor. I am sure the community would echo my appreciation and thanks.
I would also like to commend Grace and Eleanor Westlake for decorating the tree opposite in an Easter theme and leaving Easter treats for the community. Your creativity and kindness is truly inspiring and we are so lucky to have your community spirit here in Istead Rise.
