An Easter basket full of candy is usually waiting for kids when they wake up on Easter morning. However for children in the hospital that isn’t always the case…but one local candy shop is changing that.
Dewar’s Candy Shop delivered 40 Easter baskets today to children staying at the hospital. “We make these baskets every year for the children at the hospital just to kind of cheer them up,” said Melissa Gardner, who does production for Dewar’s Candy Shop.
Melissa Gardner and Lois Hubble have been making Easter baskets at Dewar’s for four years. “We kind of do the same thing every year, a little bit of chews, a little bit of chocolate, a stuffed animal, and this year we added the chocolate covered peep,” said Gardner. Besides the chocolate covered peep…the other new thing this year, Gardner and Hubble personally delivered the baskets they made for the first time.
Each basket took about two weeks to make and the candy and stuffed animals inside the baskets were all decided on and ordered ahead of time. The baskets were then handed out Friday to children staying at the Lauren Small Children’s Center at Memorial Hospital. “I feel excited because I’ve never seen anybody come in here and do it for me before,” said Ashlyn Payne, who received a basket. 11-year-old Payne was admitted to the hospital Thursday and never expected this surprise. “Thank you Dewar’s for giving me it and I appreciate you guys coming in and giving me an Easter basket,” said Payne.
While this isn’t a typical Easter for Payne, “sometimes we do an Easter egg hunt or sometimes we go to church,” said Payne. It’s still one to remember not just for her, but everyone involved. “We look forward to it every year,” said Gardner. Gardner and Hubble say they want to do this every year.
