Special Needs Community Egg Hunt: A hunt for inclusion opportunities

A yearly tradition for many children and families is to participate in an egg hunt around the Easter holiday. Adults place eggs around various “hiding spots” around a given area and children are encouraged to then hunt for the prizes within each egg. Such a widely practiced activity is carried out by many organizations, but the city of Perry realized that one particular population appeared to be at a disadvantage. So, in an attempt to address those needs, Perry organized the first Special Needs Community Egg Hunt.

The egg hunt event was first executed in 2019, however the idea was fostered in 2018. Due to weather, the hunt had been canceled the first year, but returned for the first time the following year. Then last year, the pandemic became the reason for yet another cancellation. Having such a rough start at becoming an annual event, the Leisure Services of Perry, the ones heading up the event this year, are hoping for a smooth, easygoing process in 2021.

Anya Turpin, Perry’s Special Events Manager, was a part of the initial event of 2019. “It was actually my first event that I did for the city,” she revealed. “I had only started like the week or two before.”

Discussing how the idea came about, Turpin shared, “Basically the concept of this came about [because] we have lots of churches and lots of organizations that do really fantastic Easter egg hunts throughout the community of Houston County, but something that we had seen kind of a need was for special events for the special needs community.” She continued, saying, “And what this does is it reaches a very specific population that may not feel comfortable going to other events. Discussing with different parents and family members, they shared that there is always this reservation of, ‘I don’t want to bring my child and have them feel uncomfortable or make other people uncomfortable.’ So it’s really a safe space for people with all different kinds of special needs, whatever that means to you and your family, to just come and enjoy the thrill of the experience; we want everyone to feel comfortable.”

Turpin then went into the specifics of the set up from 2019. She described four different zones that could specifically cater to particular special needs. The first zone consisted of a traditional egg-hunting zone. This was geared toward children—typically siblings—who did not have special needs but were in attendance to support the event. The other three zones were specific to special needs. 

One zone was an allergy friendly zone. “We know that there are a lot of children who can’t have certain food colorings, can’t have certain peanut allergies, dairy allergies… so that entire hunting zone didn’t have anything edible in it,” Turpin informed. Instead, she explained that the plastic prize eggs were filled with toys, stickers and treats that the children were able to keep and not forced to experience the disappointment of getting rid of half of the items they collected.

The next zone was wheelchair accessible, and the last was catered to the visually impaired. Nancy Graham, the Leisure Services Supervisor, shared that, “The egg emits a clear constant beeping sound so that they (the children) can follow their sound and be able to join in on the hunt as well.” The idea is to plant smaller eggs near those beeping to trigger more of the hunt and allow the children to find more eggs.

Graham will be the one to lead the event this year. Perry Mayor and Council recently shifted the responsibilities of the special event from the special events committee to Leisure Services because, according to Turpin, “It made more sense for them to be in charge of it.” She went on to say, “They can add to it if they want to, they can change things. But I have every faith that whatever it is that they decide to do is only going to make it better than it was its first year.”

Participating in the event in 2019, Turpin explained that the experience was one of the most rewarding ones she has ever had. “I had parents come up to me crying and saying that in 17 years, they had never taken their child to one because he didn’t feel comfortable. And today, I did. Today was his first time, and it was amazing.”

Spearheading the special event for the first time this year, Graham also expressed her excitement and anticipation. “It’s important to me,” she began, “because I understand that for some of the families around here, they couldn’t take part in this tradition. And now we are going to be able to meet the needs of this population. That’s why it’s important.”

Graham has been working diligently to make this event run successfully. She shared that the event will not only have the special twist on the traditional hunt, but it will also have photo opportunities, a variety of prizes, the famous Golden Egg, baskets, various sensory toys, sensory friendly games and activities, vendors and sponsors who are ready to provide support to families of special needs children. 

Wellsprings Wellness Center, Warner Robins Civitan Club, Freedom Concepts, Senseabilities and Patel Life and Health Insurance are among the currently registered businesses that will be setting up booths at the event to indicate that they can be a service and resource to many families. Graham informed that she should know by next week, which businesses will be officially coming to set up their tables. “A lot of them just want the community to know that they are available and that their services are available to them for those who don’t know they’re there.”

Graham particularly stressed that the whole family is encouraged to attend. “We just want to have an event that brings the family together. I have been receiving positive responses from the community asking how they can support it, how they can donate, and various families calling to let us know that they are expecting to attend.”

The outdoor event will be held in a COVID friendly manner, allowing for social distancing and a safe atmosphere to enjoy the community. Turpin shared, “The response that you get from this event is much more emotional than it is, you know, even if you only have 100 people show up those are 100 people who were empowered to have this experience somewhere else.”

“We are just so excited about it to be able to offer this,” Graham expressed.

The special needs egg hunt will take place on April 3 at Rozar Park in Perry at 1060 Keith Drive, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Entire families are encouraged to attend to make this a memorable experience for all. Graham is still taking applications from different vendors and businesses for the next week. For more information on how to be involved, volunteer, or for general questions about what to expect, please call 478-988-2865 or email nancy.graham@perry-ga-gov.

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