Charlene Belew
Staff Writer
Cameron University’s Programming Activities Council (PAC) held its annual Easter Egg Hunt at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26 in the Bentley Gardens. Children and parents were filled with excitement and the sound of laughter was heard throughout the gardens.
PAC and Cameron’s Upward Bound students teamed together to get the colorful, plastic eggs stuffed with candy and ready to go for the children who attended the egg hunt.
Prior to the egg hunt, children separated into different groups around the Bentley gardens according to their ages. Each parent and child was asked to be respectful during the Easter egg hunt to ensure fairness and safety among the children participating in the event.
After the children separated into their respective areas of the gardens, including college students into an area of their own, the egg hunt started. Children and parents eagerly filed into the egg arenas and all of the baskets present started filling with the colorful Easter eggs.
Twelve eggs hidden around the Bentley Gardens had a piece of paper inside of them. Children who got these eggs were given a special prize. This prize included a decorative Easter basket filled to the brim with candy.
PAC member Stacy Hill, a junior in Business, was responsible for planning the Easter egg hunt. He said that he enjoyed the outcome of the event.
“It took a lot of work during the day to get the eggs set and ready to go for the event,” Hill said. “We had Upward Bound volunteer to help us stuff the eggs, and they really helped us out.”
Hill said that his own 2-year-old son attended the Easter egg hunt and that they both had an exciting time interacting with the community and searching for the hidden eggs.
“This event was great for me,” Hill said. “Not only was I able to be a part of it as a PAC member, but I was able to bring my wife and son along. My 2-year-old son Archer was very excited. Archer loves candy and running just as much as every other kid.”
According to the PAC information page, the mission of this organization is to provide entertaining events while advocating personal growth and linking Cameron’s organizations to the community. Hill said that this was a great way to promote this mission.
“I felt that this event was a great way to reach out and give back to the community. From my experience, there is no better way to reach people than through their children. Members of our community were able to come and enjoy the campus while their children had fun running off their energy.”
Psychology junior and one of the two PAC co-chairs Sidney McCormack said that putting on the annual Easter egg hunt is important for the community and Cameron students alike.
“We put it on every year and I think this gives the community a chance to come out and interact. It also gives Cameron a chance to give back to the community,” McCormack said.
Children who arrived late to the Easter egg hunt received the chance to get a few eggs in their basket from PAC members.
Children were given the opportunity to take pictures with the Easter Bunny, who was portrayed by CU Student Tony Henderson. Children and parents were also invited to enjoy refreshments and decorate the sidewalks of the Bentley Gardens with chalk.
Parents, children and Cameron students that are looking for pictures that were taken with the Easter bunny at the event can locate them on Ole Kim’s Facebook page at facebook. com/ole.kim1.