Adults looking for Easter bunnies in the garden of Petruskerk (Petrus church) in Eindhoven. It was a remarkable sight on Saturday afternoon, but it really happened.
It was something new that Hugo van Rooij from Stichting (Z)onderdak ((with(out) roof foundation) had come up with to give people with little money a happy Easter. Everyone was allowed to hand in one Easter bunny they found and it had a number on it. That number could be exchanged for a prize.
“I had gigantic Easter bunnies as a prize, but also money”, De Rooij said. “The main prize was even €50”. He was not afraid that people would attack each other for such cash prizes. He was right, every participant was happy with his or her gift.
Like a child
The thirty to forty participants meet every Saturday afternoon in Petruskerk. They then get soup and sandwiches. This time De Rooij had come up with something extra to get these people in the Easter mood: looking for Easter bunnies.
Participant Hans with his reddish curls felt like a child again when he searched the ground for hidden Easter bunnies. “This is so much fun, a bit of treasure hunting. It’s great that this is being organised”.
After handing in, his find turned out to be worth a gigantic chocolate Easter bunny. “Great! Then I won’t arrive empty-handed tomorrow at my three adult sons”, he beamed. “I’ll give this Easter Bunny three minutes and it’ll be gone tomorrow”.
Benefactor
70-year-old Joke was also very happy when she came to hand in her found Easter bunny. “I’m so curious to see what I won”. She impatiently unpacked her envelope with the prize she had won and could hardly believe it. The envelope contained €50.
“I’m going to give them to the homeless. I’m going to buy socks and underpants and I’m going to buy cups of coffee for them”. She said she doesn’t need the money. “Making other people happy makes me happy. They need it more than I do”.
Meanwhile, Danio unpacked his winning envelope. “€20, wow, that’s what I’m going to eat from today and tomorrow. I don’t have that much money so I’m very happy with this”.
Overjoyed
In the meantime, Eindhoven benefactor Hugo de Rooij looks back with satisfaction. “This makes me so happy. Let’s face it, these people deserve to have a happy Easter. And I never worried for a moment that it would get out of hand, because there is money to be won. Someone just said that he was overjoyed with his huge chocolate Easter egg, because money is just money”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
