St. Martin's in Des Plaines promotes philanthropy in Easter egg hunt

Children at St. Martin's Episcopal Church Easter egg hunt Saturday in Des Plaines will get all the traditional goodies they're used to finding inside the plastic eggs: jelly beans, chocolate and other candy.

But they'll also crack open some eggs to discover "Marty money" - $10, $5 and $1 play money bills with the images of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and St. Martin - which the kids will get to dedicate to three charities.

"We wanted to sort of teach kids this isn't a holiday to just run around and gather as much candy as we can," said the Rev. M.E. Eccles, rector of St. Martin's. "In the spirit of Jesus' message to love your neighbor as yourself, we give kids a way of doing that."

After the egg hunt, scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m., children will get to deposit their money into three buckets representing the different charities: The Buddy Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and Aicardi Syndrome Foundation. The church will then use $300 in real money to divide among the charities.

Some 90 eggs will contain the "Marty money." Just as many, if not more, will contain the traditional treats, Eccles said.

The eggs will be hidden throughout the grounds of St. Martin's, located at 1095 E. Thacker St.

Eccles said she got the idea from a church in San Diego that had a similar Easter egg hunt.

"Hopefully they'll remember that Easter is about more than just the Easter Bunny and candy, but that it's about hope and the Resurrection and Jesus' commandment to love one another," she said.