A very generous Easter Bunny hopped around LocoLanding Adventure Park in Penticton on Monday, hiding over 10,000 eggs for the annual Easter Fun Day fundraiser.
“Today we have our ninth annual Easter egg hunt and fun day at LocoLanding, all to benefit OSNS. We have hundreds of families here,” said owner of LocoLanding Adventure Park Diana Stirling. “We do the egg hunt in waves and we also have 75 of our teenage volunteers giving their time today to make sure that 100 per cent of our proceeds go to charity.
“So this event is driven by the youth for the youth in our community.”
OSNS stands for the Okanagan Similkameen Neurological Society and it’s a child and youth development centre located right next to the Penticton hospital.
“We help young kids with developmental and behavioural needs,” said Meg Dimma, community engagement coordinator at OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre. “We also have a daycare and a pre-school.”
The not-for-profit offers speech and language assistance, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and autism treatment programs.
“The organization is just so special,” Dimma said. “We see children who are really struggling when they come in and then, after spending time with us, they’re learning at the same rate as their peers.”
There were plenty of Easter-themed activities to enjoy at the fundraiser.
“We have bubbles. You can make your own Easter bunny ears,” Stirling said. “We have Easter bunny nose crafts. You can do the egg hunt.”
Between 1,000 to 1,400 people were expected to attend the fundraiser, with profits going towards adaptive playground equipment to help with motor and social skills.
Dimma says there is a long waitlist at OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre, which makes keeping up with the need of the community a huge priority.
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