Spring is right around the corner, and the City of Thomasville is helping local kids hop into the Easter spirit. With the holiday upon us, the City’s Community Relations, Thomasville Fire Rescue (TFR), and Thomasville Police Department (TPD) teams are gearing up a re-imagined Easter Eggstravaganza for elementary students at Thomasville City Schools and Thomas County Head Start Center.
“With coronavirus restrictions still prohibiting large gatherings, our team was determined to find a safe manner in which we can provide our local children with an event that can help get them in the holiday spirit,” said Dominic Ford, Executive Director of Human Resources and Community Relations. “The kids, like everyone else, have been impacted by the pandemic and have worked hard to overcome many challenges. We are excited about providing them with some much-deserved Easter joy.”
Ford says that students will be treated to goodie bags, Easter egg hunts, a special video, and golden prize eggs. “We are delivering special treats to students at Harper, Jerger, and Scott Elementary along with those at Thomas County Headstart in order to help them have an ‘Eggstraordinary’ Easter celebration with their classmates,” said Ford. “Once we have delivered the packages, each school and classroom will be able to hold their own Easter Egg hunt in a manner that fits their respective Covid-19 safety guidelines. Our Community Relations Team will also deliver goody bags to the schools for the many students that are attending classes in a virtual format due to the on-going pandemic, so everyone will be able to experience the fun of the holiday.”
According to Ford, golden eggs will be spread throughout the supply of eggs given to each school. “The kids need to be on the lookout for special golden eggs that have been randomly placed in the goody bags and included in the batches of eggs that will be used for the egg hunts,” said Ford. “These eggs will have coupons that can be redeemed for special grand prizes. We know the kids will really be excited for and enjoy these prizes.”
Nicole Jackson, Human Resource and Community Relations Specialist, said that that the re-imagined Eggstravaganza would not have been possible without the help of community partners and volunteers. “The re-imagined format of the Eggstravaganza required over 12,000 Easter eggs and nearly 1,500 goody bags to be stuffed with treats,” said Jackson. “In order to get the eggs filled and candy bags put together, we reached out to Hands on Thomas County for assistance with volunteers. The staff at Hands on Thomas County was successful in securing some incredible volunteers to help with this massive undertaking. We are extremely appreciative of the volunteer hours provided by Project Backyard, the Connection Church, the Walk Youth Group, Thomas Grady Service Center, and the Thomasville High School Scholars Academy National Honor Society.”
The opportunity for local kids to interact with members of TFR, TPD, and City staff at the traditional Easter Eggstravaganza is a staple of the event and will continue to be a part of the re-imagined format. “Our City staff, TFR, and TPD love to interact with the kids and simply let them know that they are valued,” said Jackson. “Since we cannot be with the kids during this event, we are sending them a special video message, filled with some very special friends, to remind them of how important they are to the City of Thomasville. We are honored for this opportunity to bring this event to the schools, and we are confident that it will get their Easter holiday off to a great start.”