Bethlehem SCV made it their mission to spread love to the community on Saturday at their ninth-annual Easter Eggventure by providing free creative and fun activities for kids and their families to enjoy while also collecting donations of canned and boxed goods for those in need.
“Because there was no cost to the families involved, we wanted them to have the opportunity to give,” said Senior Pastor John Koczman. “Because it’s important to say ‘Thank you’ and be able to give back.”
Nearly 400 individuals attended the early Easter event.
The church partnered with the Santa Clarita Grocery, a non-profit organization that focuses on providing quality food to low-income and homeless families in the community.
“It’s run by volunteers and that’s what I do. I work in the office, as well as with the food distributions,” said Jill Ziser-Carr, who stood in front of the Easter Eggventure event collecting donations as a representative of the grocery.
“We survive by donations from all the local grocery stores, farmers and other agencies that donate food, personal care items, fresh produce and meat,” Ziser-Carr added. “We help out the community twice a week by donating the goods to our clients.”
Bethlehem SCV recognized that raising a family off of working lower-income jobs can be a very difficult task, especially when living in a city with a high cost of living.
“We had people saying ‘Hey, how can we pay you guys for this event? Or what can we do?’ And we just want to be a blessing to the community. So we said ‘No no no, bring some canned goods out and we’ll make sure it goes to [the Santa Clarita Grocery],” said Associate Pastor Joe Beran.
The Easter Eggventure included multiple activities directed towards young kids ranging from toddlers through 10-year-olds. These activities included continuous Easter egg hunts, carnival-type games, face painting, and having the opportunity to take a picture with the Easter Bunny!
