Easter is a time for kids to eat candy and hunt for colorful eggs. But children who are sick and in the hospital don't get to enjoy those Easter festivities.
Which is why Dougherty County Police Officers wanted to spread some Easter cheer to those children with some help from the Easter Bunny.
Some children couldn't get out and enjoy Easter this Sunday, so a group of Dougherty County police officers brought Easter to them.
"We are bringing the Easter bunny to children that unfortunately have to spend Easter in the hospital," says Cpt. Jimmy Sexton, Dougherty County Police
The Easter bunny was escorted by several officers into the pediatrics ward at Phoebe Putney. And she helped bring a smile to several sick children's faces.
"A man came in with a basket of Easter bunnies," says Kani Newton. 8 year old Kani Newton was not able to play with his siblings on Easter because of his asthma.
But he forgot all about that when the Easter Bunny came through the door. "I have never seen an Easter bunny in a costume," says Newton.
The bunny handed out toys, coloring books and crayons to kids on the pediatric floor and placed stuffed bunnies on incubators in the neonatal intensive car unit.
"It is a terrible thing to be in the hospital on Easter, so we hope just to bring them a little joy, and a little smile to their face, it is absolutely fun for us, we love it," says Sexton.
And it's all made possible by the national Easter Bunny Foundation that funds this effort for dozens of law enforcement agencies across the nation.
"It shows somebody cares," says Jimarah Dixon. Jimarah Dixon wasn't happy about spending the day in the hospital,
Her 6 month old baby girl has been sick for weeks. "I really wanted to go home, but that just made my day," says Dixon.
She is looking forward to telling her daughter the story of her first Easter when she gets older.
"I will be like, 'girl you were in the hospital, and your mama was watching TV and a big old Easter bunny walks through the door'," says Dixon.
Putting smiles on sick children's faces for the holiday. The Easter Bunny Foundation allows law enforcement officers to give gifts to kids in the hospital each year.
This is the 6th year, Dougherty County Police have partnered with the foundation.
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