The Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Inc. hosted a two-day Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28. Greenbelters took pictures with the Easter Bunny. Sparky the Fire Dog joined the photo event on Sunday.
Lisa Hegwood, the department’s special events and public outreach chair, said this first-time event was organized by the department and Ladies Auxiliary of the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department.
“We thought that it was really important for us to stay involved with the community, even though there are still a lot of Covid restrictions about gatherings and special events,” she said. “So we thought that this was a really good way to get people out of their houses and around the city and then also interacting with us.”
Mayor Colin Byrd visited the fire department Sunday in support of the organization. He greeted volunteers and took pictures with the Easter Bunny and Sparky the Fire Dog.
Byrd said he cherishes and takes advantage of the little opportunities to connect and to say thank you. “So really humbled and grateful that … people seem to be in good spirits,” he said. “This is encouraging.”
Scavenger Hunt participants who found golden eggs that were hidden around the city won Easter baskets Sunday.
Greenbelt resident Lindsay Beardan found one of the golden eggs. “It honestly was a little stressful,” she admitted about the hunt. But she also said “it was a good treat.”
Kids greeted the Easter Bunny with high-fives Saturday. They danced and played with the Easter Bunny and received fire prevention materials from volunteers.
“It’s really great … to see the kids’ excitement and to know that even during a pandemic, that we are able to provide some little bit of normalcy,” Hegwood said. “It’s a good thing, right, for kids to be able to be kids.”
Greenbelt resident Janay Sanders and her two dogs took a picture with the Easter Bunny. She said she would definitely like to see more events like this from the fire department.
“I feel like it’s very important for the kids to come out and just interact …, even if it’s just for a short time,” Sanders said. “I think it’s important to have that human connection.”
According to Hegwood, she received messages from Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt participants stating that “they had a lot of fun and that it got their family to spend some time together, or it helped them get their steps in for the day.”
Brittany Gaddy is a University of Maryland journalism student writing for the News Review.
