MERIDIAN, Idaho — There have been Easter egg hunts all over the Treasure Valley this weekend. For kids, there is nothing like gathering all those eggs, cracking them open and finding out what's inside.
There was a special egg hunt in Meridian; A hunt for kids of all abilities. It was organized by the AdaptABLE Foundation, and hosted by Gem Prep Academy.
"This is an adaptive Easter egg hunt. We have kids of all abilities, families of all shapes and sizes, and we are all participating together in the coolest easter egg hunt ever so everybody feels included," said Willie Stewart, AdaptABLE Foundation board member.
AdaptABLE Foundation board member Willie Stewart lost his arm when he was 18 in a construction accident. He knows how important events like this are. Stewart said AdaptABLE's mission is to improve the lives of Idahoans with adaptive needs by providing them with the resources, tools, and support they need. This organization is all about inclusion, dignity and independence for all people.
"The best thing about AdaptABLE is it's one of the only foundations that says hey, you are not alone, and that's what saves us. We have parents with disabilities, we have kids with disabilities, all across the spectrum. We have wheels, we have crutches, we have everything it takes to grab an egg off these Easter egg trees." Stewart said. "We want everyone to participate and get an egg."
Haley Comer is from Nampa; her son Ryder is just one of the energetic egg hunters at the event.
"We are super excited to be here," Comer said. "Ryder uses a wheelchair so he can't access eggs on the ground, so just to come to a space where he is able to access things on his level that are available for him to easily reach, and also see other kids like him is really special."
There are many ways to make an egg hunt work for all abilities, and AdaptABLE made sure that's what they provided at this hunt. For the Comer's, it means the world.
"Inclusivity is so important to me because I want my child to be able to grow up in a world where he has access to what everybody else does, unfortunately our world isn't always set up that way. There is something for everybody here," Comer said.
Stewart said the kids at this egg hunt inspired him so much.
"There's a superpower that comes with these kids," Stewart said. "When I lost my arm, you know who I learned from? The kids. They are the ones who taught me to rehab and be what I can be. These kids are resilient, these kids are adaptable, these kids can teach us all kinds of things we didn't know about ourselves."
The AdaptABLE Foundation is a relatively new nonprofit, created a year ago. Everyone serving on the board has a personal tie to the adaptive community, and they each have a story to tell. For more information on the AdaptABLE Foundation, or how you can get involved, click here.
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