Ruth Longoria/The Olympian
Little Creek Casino employee Amanda Hernandez loads Easter baskets into a vehicle bound for the Mason County Shelter.

Casino stands in for Easter Bunny

RUTH LONGORIA THE OLYMPIAN

SHELTON -- The Easter Bunny won't pass by children at the Mason County Shelter and transitional housing this year, thanks to some help from employees at Little Creek Casino.

Casino employees delivered 60 Easter baskets filled with stuffed toys, candies and other goodies to the shelter Friday.

"Every child deserves an Easter basket -- the kids can't help it if they're homeless," said Rebecca Etheridge, 51, a Little Creek employee.

For the past four years, Etheridge and two other casino employees, April Olson and Patty Brown, have spearheaded the Easter project, which involves many of the casino's 450 employees.

The employees also collect and deliver toys and goodies to the shelter at Christmas.

On Friday, six employees spent the morning placing stuffed toys, basketballs and other gifts into dozens of colorful carriers.

The baskets are labeled by age and gender, as specified by a master list shelter employees created. The children range in age from 1 month to 18 years old.

"We've got a little bit of everything," Olson said as she pushed a large, blue, floppy-eared stuffed bunny into a basket.

Darlene Krise, 44, of Shelton enjoys being one of the Easter Bunny's helpers.

"It makes me feel sad that there are homeless children in our own area," Krise said.

"You see kids on TV in other areas, but there are children right here in Shelton who need a little help," she said.

"I'm glad I can be a part of this."

Amanda Hernandez, 24, a food and beverage assistant at the casino, said creating baskets for homeless children is a good way to celebrate the holiday.

Hernandez has been involved in the Easter and Christmas projects since she began working at the casino three years ago.

"This is fun, and it makes you feel good," she said.

She said her 4-year-old son, Jeremie, enjoyed helping put together Christmas stockings for the homeless children at Christmas.

"It's nice to be able to give to other people, and it's good for Jeremie to learn that way," Hernandez said.

"A lot of times, people forget about homeless children when it comes to Easter," said Faith Wilbur, 23, a human resources administrative clerk at the casino.

Olson said it's OK that the Easter Bunny gets all the credit and the group doesn't get to see the children's eyes light up when they see their baskets on Easter morning.

"We leave that joy to the parents," she said.

Jessey Rassler, a case manager at the Mason County Shelter, said, "This helps us so much; the kids and their parents really appreciate the baskets," Rassler said.

"It's nice to know that the kids are not going to be left out at the shelter."

Ruth Longoria covers Mason County for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5435 or rlongori@olympia. gannett.com.

On the Web:

- Little Creek Casino

The Olympian Copyright 2002

back to main South Sound index