Marklund residents treated to adaptive Easter fun at Elgin church

For the second year in a row, the gracious community of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Elgin hosted a fully inclusive adaptive Easter egg hunt for Marklund residents, welcoming five buses of friends from the nonprofit’s Geneva and Elgin locations.

With warm welcomes, a creative photo booth, a special egg hunt with balloons tethered to plastic eggs to help the residents reach them, hands on crafts, and plenty of smiles — plus a friendly greeting from per therapy dog Dolan and his Marklund Volunteer of the Year human, Alison Smith, who helped plan the event at her church — the day was filled with connection from start to finish.

“We are so grateful for the volunteers and staff who showed up for our friends and helped make these memories so special,” said Tiffany Zurek, Marklund’s social and digital media manager.

Last month, the Marklund Wasmond Center in Elgin also got a surprise spring visitor. The Easter Bunny hopped on over for a March 23 visit with students and residents.

Marklund is a nonprofit organization that serves children and adults with profound developmental disabilities.