Erie police and Optimist Club join to host Easter egg hunt – Boulder…

More than 10,000 plastic Easter eggs were laid on the grass in Clayton Park, filled with candy, toys, prizes. Within moments, hundreds of kids raced across the field to collect eggs and cleared the field of the brightly colored eggs.

More than 200 Erie residents gathered at the end of the designated egg hunt area, with the area being separated by age group. Right as the clock hit 1 p.m., kids collected as many Easter eggs as they could. Certain age groups cleared the field of eggs within two minutes, while the toddlers got the help of their parents to collect the plastic eggs.

The Erie Police Department and Optimist Club of Erie hosted Sunday’s event.

Sgt. Brittany Wilson, lead organizer of the event, laughed when realizing that more than 20 hours of volunteer work to set up the event was all over so quickly.

She said that she had to buy “pounds and pounds and pounds” of candy, fill the eggs with the help of Erie police officers and Optimist Club volunteers, lay more than 10,000 eggs at the park while also handling the logistics of park permits and advertising for the event. Certain eggs also had tickets that families could redeem for baskets or prizes.

Wilson, in her first year organizing the event, said she had heard that the Optimist Club was struggling to hold the event this year. She said that the police department has been wanting to hold a community event, so she was happy to get the police department to help host the event. Wilson said that the events help the police and community build a better connection.

“It’s nice for them to see that we’re not always out there getting bad guys. We make sure everyone is safe,” Wilson said.

She said that the police department wants to be involved in the community. Events such as the egg hunt help community members be comfortable approaching offices. She said that because the egg hunt was geared for younger kids, with the egg hunt at Clayton Park being specifically for anyone under 12 years old, the event was a chance for police to become “less scary.”

Terry Lewis has been a member of the Optimist Club of Erie for more than 25 years and has been helping organize the event since she started. She said that as the town grows, the egg hunt keeps getting bigger as well. She noted that the club is all about the community working together to help Erie kids thrive.

Optimist Club Secretary Nancy Gruber has been a member of the club for more than 15 years. She said that the Optimist Club’s mission is to serve the children of Erie. She said that when she first moved to Erie, she did not know “a single soul in town.” The club became a way for her to cement herself as part of the community, while being able to help the town’s youth.

“We believe in helping kids,” Gruber said.

She said that the club funds college scholarships and holds a variety of events such as the Eerie Erie marathon, giving Christmas presents to those in need, parades, poster contests and other events focused on helping Erie kids.