The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation has found a new way to make Easter more exciting for younger Estevan residents, all while raising some funds towards their annual Radiothon for Life.
They have teamed up with Kristen O'Handley and Erin Wagstaff at Royal LePage Dream Realty to Egg Your Yard – a fun initiative that will see the Easter Bunny secretly delivering eggs to the community.
"This Easter season, we will offer the opportunity for you to support our hospital and receive your very own Easter egg hunt in your backyard in return," says the foundation's website.
Usually, the foundation doesn't do any fundraising around this time of the year, but this time they decided to shake things up.
"We met up with the team to think of something that we can do around Easter … We thought it was a really great opportunity leading up to the radiothon to offer something to do that the city hasn't really seen before. So we thought what's a better way to celebrate Easter and also to support the hospital than doing an Easter egg hunt throughout the entire city," said foundation executive director Breanne Van de Woestyne.
The eggs will be delivered on April 3 between 8-10 p.m., when the Easter Bunny will visit Estevan.
"Our team will secretly come into your yard, hide some Easter eggs and then leave a note from the Easter Bunny himself in your mailbox. On Easter morning, you and your family will be treated to a backyard Easter egg hunt to celebrate."
Eggs will be filled with small toys or candies. People living out of town can order their Estevan loved ones' yard to be egged. They also have the cards personalized, so kids would know who they can thank for inviting the Easter Bunny over.
Unfortunately, the team won't be able to egg yards outside of the city limits. However, they can arrange the eggs and card in a package for pickup so that people could set up the egg hunt for their families themselves. For that, residents just need to select pick-up option on the registration form. Packages will be available for curbside pickup on April 1 at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Those that select this option will be contacted by email with further instructions leading up to the pick-up date.
Van de Woestyne said that the response so far has been incredible. They plan to egg about 70 houses, and they only have a few spots left.
"If anyone wants to register, I recommend registering quickly … It's going to be a busy night for us, but we are excited."
Each egg hunt of 25 eggs costs $30. People can also purchase multiple quantities of 25, and the money raised will go towards the Radiothon for Life. Payment can be done by credit card, cheque or e-transfer. For details or to register call the office at (306) 637-2474 or go to www.sjhf.org/egghunt.
Van de Woestyne also noticed that this fundraiser showed how many people have moved to online registration. She also pointed out that people choose to order one or more baskets, depending on how many kids there are in the family.
The Radiothon for Life will run on May 26 from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. with a donation drop-off tent set up outside of the radio station’s office. The foundation is still finalizing some further details.
