The Easter Bunny was officially declared an essential service worker by B.C. Premier John Horgan last week and Ucluelet locals cheerfully stepped up in droves to help the gregarious candy-giving rabbit bring joy to socially-isolated West Coast kids.
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Traditionally, Ucluelet’s Easter efforts centre around a collaboration between The Bunny and Black Rock Oceanfront Resort that sees a colourfully scrumptious bounty of treats hidden throughout the sand at Big Beach. This year though, the town is responsibly adhering to social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 so the usual beach festivities were cancelled.
Without Black Rock’s popular event to focus their efforts on, residents were left wondering how to help the Easter Bunny out and Food Bank on the Edge executive director Cris Martin said she began fielding multiple calls from generous locals in search of a target for their Easter spirit.
“It just shows what I’ve been saying all along about Ukee, we’re such a giving community and there’s so much care and love here for everybody,” Martin told the Westerly News. “It’s a palpable feeling for sure and the demonstration of compassion and generosity is overwhelming.”
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She said donations of treats and time began pouring in, with the bulk coming from the Rotary Club of Ucluelet, Black Rock Resort, Thay Tea, Judy Gray and Foggy Bean and the sizeable bounty was separated into individual bags to be distributed to parents throughout Ucluelet and Hitacu.
Martin noted the food bank does not usually play a large role on Easter, but was happy to help dish out festive cheer on the Easter Bunny’s behalf.
“We were really happy to be part of it and try to salvage something of an Easter feeling celebration and holiday,” she said.
In a statement to the Westerly News, the Rotary Club of Ucluelet said its efforts are always centred around supporting the well-being of residents.
“When we saw local Easter events being cancelled due to COVID-19, we wanted to do our part to make sure that children and their families did not go without Easter treats this year,” the statement read.
“The effort was organized as all of our endeavours are, by the whole club who put it together, funded and executed it using social media because of current conditions. The activities we choose to do are ones that allow us to follow the stringent safety precautions required to keep our community safe.”
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The club added that its efforts are continuing and residents are encouraged to reach out and help brainstorm ideas for keeping the community’s spirit up throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Rotary Club of Ucluelet is staying active in our community during these trying times by supporting other community initiatives, connecting with locals to see where we may be of assistance and offering friendship and support to those who are feeling cutoff and lonely due to social/physical distancing,” the statement read. “We thank our awesome community for their support and encourage residents to reach out to us if they are interested in getting involved with our Rotary Club. Our members are community members too and love where we live.”
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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