By LINDA ANN McDONALD
Correspondent
JOY-Filled Journeys hosted an Easter Holiday event at Wakulla Springs Lodge on Thursday, March 21.
Activities included meeting the Easter Bunny, decorate a cookie, creating ingn Easter craft, and face painting.
JOY-Filled Journeys is a non-profit giving back to those with special needs in Wakulla County.
Wakulla County’s Clerk of Court Greg James donned the organization’s mascot costume named “Joy” for the event. “This is great to be a part of this,” James said. “The kids love it and I know how much joy it brings to the children and their families; even on a small scale, it makes an impact on everyone involved.”
Jessie Askew of Wakulla Springs Lodge said, “We love to partner any way we can; everything we do promotes inclusivity and out look for a safe place for the kids to experience great events, we are lucky to be able to extend this experience to all those involved, and we are blessed to be a part of it.”
Elizabeth Goble, a visitor to the event with special needs said, “I am having fun, I like these events because I get to see old friends and make new friends, and this is great because we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
“This is the first time I have been to an event like this, this is great,” said Jan Jensen, grandmother to a special needs child Abigail Maddi. “The kids are having a ball, and everyone is excited to see the Easter Bunny, this is very cute.”
Out of town visitors to the Wakulla Springs Lodge Debby Russell and Lynn McLaughlin were watching the event from a distance.”We didn’t know what was going on,” said Russell, “but it looked really special with all the kids making Easter eggs and with their faces painted. As a special ed teacher myself, I can tell you this is a spectacular thing this community is having.”
Frank Messersmith, husband of Wakulla County Commissioner Quincee Messersmith surprised the visitors of the event by being the Easter Bunny for the evening.
JOY-Filled Journeys and be reached at (850) 228-5667 and joyfilledjourneyscorp@gmail.com.
