Cassidy Pierre, 7, fills a purple bucket with beeping eggs.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Boyd Jenkins, 3, finds a red beeping egg in a pile of leaves.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Boyd Jenkins, 3, carries a green Easter bucket to find beeping eggs with his father, Taylor Jenkins.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Boyd Jenkins, 3, grabs a red beeping egg in a pile of leaves.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Hudson Ruseskas, 4, puts a yellow beeping egg in his bucket.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Liam Reznak, 9, poses for a photo with the Easter Bunny.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Hudson Ruseskas, 4, finds a yellow beeping egg in a bush.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Hudson Ruseskas, 4, dashes to find eggs.
Sydney Allabaugh | Times Leader
Blind and visually impaired children raced across the lawn Saturday, following the sound of beeping eggs.
The event was the annual Insight Kids Club of NEPA “Beeping” Egg Hunt, hosted by Northeast Sight Services in partnership with Community Services for Sight, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Wilkes-Barre.
Boyd Jenkins, 3, and Beau Jenkins, 5, legally blind brothers in the Insight Kids Club, were among the participants to fill their buckets with eggs in exchange for candy.
“Having the accessibility with the beeping eggs, they can be a part of it just like any other sighted kid, and it’s awesome to see,” said their mother, Kelli Jenkins. “I think having these chances where the boys can do the normal thing and have fun and be with other kids like them is great.”
About 30 blind and visually impaired children and their siblings searched for eggs in different groups. Attendees also played games, made crafts, ate lunch, and decorated cookies. Many kids also had their faces painted like the Easter Bunny, who was in attendance.
“Our beeping egg hunt is probably our most fun and favorite activity that we do throughout the year,” said Amy Feldman, president of the Northeastern Sight Services.
Feldman said the organization has been holding this event for nine years. The beeping eggs, each powered by a 9-volt battery, were donated by a local bomb squad.
She measures the event’s success by the amount of laughter.
“It has a little bit of an educational component to it, while having the fun aspect,” Feldman said. “They’re out there using listening skills, navigation skills, spatial awareness in an effort to find the eggs. It just builds their confidence and their independence each time that they find them.”
Lily Morgan, 17, has participated in Community Services for Sight and Northeast Sight Services programs for many years. She said even as she gets older, the egg hunt is still one of her favorite events.
“We go outside, and the sun is one of my big weak spots,” Morgan said. “When they beep, we’re able to track where they are, and we’re able to make this whole experience that happens every year so much easier. It’s fun for everyone.”
Besides the egg hunt, Morgan enjoys participating in and planning InSight Kids Club events, like Camp Sight.
“I found out that a blind kid like me does canoeing and archery and has genuinely found passions for such a thing,” Morgan said about the summer camp. “It’s really refreshing.”