EDMONDS – More than 800 children of families in need are receiving special Easter baskets assembled by adults, teens and children at Holy Rosary Parish.

The goal, said Mary Hupf, who recruited the volunteers for the Easter baskets, is to give the children “a little reason to smile.”

Volunteers gathered March 16 in the cafeteria of Holy Rosary School to assemble the baskets. For infants, baskets included a felt book, washcloths and a rubber ducky, said Angela Antonson, Holy Rosary’s pastoral assistant for administration. Baskets for older children included two plastic eggs filled with candy by the parish school’s sixth and seventh graders, a stuffed bunny, a pinwheel, a bubble wand and a chocolate bunny.

Parishioners donated cash so the parish could purchase the items in bulk, Antonson said.

Holy Rosary’s Easter basket project has been around since 1989, when parishioners Flo Picardo and Flo Baus began the effort in their homes, Hupf said.

This year, it took about two hours for some 30 volunteers to fill 845 baskets, 100 of them for babies, Antonson said. Some volunteers brought their grandchildren, Hupf said, and “it became a social event for the (parish) women’s group.”

Parishioner Rene Hart, who connects with the organizations receiving the baskets, called it “a really beautiful process on how everybody comes together.”

A trunk full of Easter baskets assembled by members of Holy Rosary Parish in Edmonds is ready for delivery to one of the eight organizations that will distribute the baskets to families in need. (Photo courtesy of Mary Hupf)

The baskets were delivered to eight organizations that will distribute them to client families: Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, the St. Vincent de Paul conference at Holy Rosary, Next Step Pregnancy Services in Lynnwood, St. Francis House in Seattle, Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County, the Edmonds Food Bank, Food Lifeline in Seattle and Housing Hope in Everett.

Housing Hope received 300 baskets, which will be given to children at its sites in Snohomish County, said Joan Daves, a family support coach with the organization.

She complimented Holy Rosary on the quality of the baskets. All children receive similar baskets — they enjoy trading the items with each other — and the parents don’t have to worry about choking hazards in the baskets for babies, Daves said. 

“It really creates a unity and community,” she said of the program, adding that “the parents don’t have to stress about stuff they probably can’t afford.”

And receiving the Easter baskets helps show the children that people besides their parents care about them, Daves said.

“Events like this power so much goodness and energy into our sites,” she added.