HYPERLOCAL NEWS HUB BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM
Five Years of Egg-Hunting for Cooper-Young Kids
by Katie Hannings/MicroMemphis Reporter
March 31, 2012
Saturday marked the date of the 5th annual Cooper-Young Easter Egg Hunt at Peabody Elementary School. The Cooper-Young Parents Network (CYPN) coordinates with the Cooper-Young Community Association to organize the event. Neighborhood Church "started the tradition [of the egg hunt] and [the parents network] just wanted it to then now become the neighborhood tradition with the neighborhood association," says Mandy Grisham, member of the CYPN. The event was open to the entire C-Y community. The CYCA partnered with a local company that employees handicapped senior citizens. They paid $100 for 1000 eggs, according to Grisham. |
"The CYCA provided the eggs for us, and we had some volunteers come at 9:30 and throw all the eggs and hide the eggs," says Grisham.
The Easter bunny even made an appearance. He ran around and played with the children before the hunt started and helped some of the kids find the hidden gems. There were three different egg hunts: one for children ages 0-2, one for children ages 2-5, and the final hunt for children age 5 and up. The Peabody School playground was full of egg hunters. Many of the kids attend class at Peabody Elementary or are neighbors. It was all fun and games before, during and after the hunt. The kids opened their eggs and examined the goodies together. Some of them even worked out trades. "This is their neighborhood school and they have fun," says Grisham. "They will have great memories of hanging out with the Easter bunny and being with the parents and siblings and friends. " The parents network was cognizant of the dangers egg goodies can pose to younger children. They filled the eggs for the two younger age groups with toys and the older age group's eggs were filled with candy and toys. Grisham says the parents network "wanted to provide a few activities a year for all the families to come together and thought an Easter Egg Hunt was the prefect opportunity." The group holds parties and events throughout the year such as the Halloween Party and sponsoring a Light the Way party during the Cooper-Young 4-miler. Grisham described the Parent's Network as a "yahoo group of young families and young parents who live in Cooper-Young and just wanted to help each other give advice and opinions on different things [they] need as parents." Find out about upcoming events on their Facebook Page. Easter Hunt Slideshow
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Ashley Todd/ MicroMemphis reporterAshley Todd covers Lifestyles for MicroMemphis. You can send her story ideas here. Follow her on Twitter ( @_rontae ) |
Katie Hannings /MicroMemphis reporter
Katie Hannings covers Lifestyles for MicroMemphis. You can send her story ideas here. You can follow her on Twitter ( @K_Hannings) |