Yvonne Clanton has brought her children to this special Easter egg hunt every year.
“Our little boy Sam actually did his first Easter egg hunt here, “ Clanton said. “It was an egg than you could hear rather than see.”
Sam was born blind and, after a few surgeries, can now see a little bit. He’s able to use visual and audio cues to find the eggs in the grass.
Sam joined dozens of other children today for the Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind’s beeping Easter egg hunt. The organization teamed up with the Cotee River Lions Club of New Port Richey to provided 60 beeping eggs for visually impaired children to find.
“I myself am visually impaired,” said Sylvia Perez, executive director for the Lighthouse. “I remember growing up and going to Easter egg hunts and ending up with four eggs in my basket while everyone else had hundreds and how frustrating that was.”
The beeping eggs are mixed in with other, non-beeping, toy-filled eggs in a grassy patch. Kids with little to no vision are encouraged to follow their ears to the beeping eggs, while those who are sighted can find the traditional eggs with prizes inside.
Fifth-grader and egg hunter extraordinaire Lester Wylmore says the egg hunt is like anything else kids do.
“We’re just regular old boys having fun,” he said. “It’s like a normal Easter egg hunt, but with beeping eggs.”
Still, Wylmore says he’s appreciative of the many opportunities made possible by the Lighthouse. That’s where he met his good friend, Robert Denlui.
“I feel good that he’s in my life, he’s a pretty good friend.”
For Clanton, it gives her family a chance to get to know people like them.
“Everyone is the same, everyone has visual impairments,” she said. “It means a lot to be in a safe place even if it’s for a few hours. It’s nice to not have to explain ourselves to anyone.”