After last year’s success of the inaugural Bunny Bags program, the Seed Ladies are back with some new recruits.
The students of Glenlyon Norfolk School’s Student Voice program will be helping Seed Ladies co-founder Shannon Phillips.
The Seed Ladies – who aim to bring awareness to poverty in the community and support The Mustard Seed Food Bank – launched Bunny Bags, treat bags filled with candy and a stuffed animal, in 2012, collecting and distributing more than 300 bags.
“Last year I approached the Mustard Seed about it because it had occurred to me they probably don’t have anything like that for the kids when they come in at Easter,” she said.
With an opportunity available, Phillips began collecting stuffed animals, chocolates and any other Easter-related treats.
Being the mother of daughters attending Glenlyon, Phillips contacted those she knew at the school, collecting nearly 90 per cent of the bags’ contents from the school.
“This year I’m doing it a bit differently,” she said. “The students are going to do a stuffy drive for the bags, and I’m going to collect the chocolates and probably more stuffys as well.”
Another variation on last year’s model is that Phillips will be delivering the Bunny Bags to the Mustard Seed at the beginning of March instead of at Easter, because most parents come in earlier in the month.
“It’s kind of pushed things up for me, which is hard because a lot of the stores don’t have their Easter stuff out yet and a lot of people aren’t really thinking about Easter,” she said.
Donations are needed for the bags. If you’d like to donate, contact Phillips by email at seedladies@gmail.com or visit the Seed Ladies’ website at seedladies.com.