Portland, Ore.

Event includes peeping egg hunt for visually impaired children

The annual Elks Children's Eye Clinic Easter celebration will take place on Saturday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to noon. The event will be held at the Casey Eye Institute on the Marquam Hill Campus of Oregon Health & Science University. For the fourth consecutive year there will be a hunt with peeping eggs for children who are sight-impaired. Current and past patients of Elks Children's Eye Clinic and their siblings aged 3 to 8 are invited to take part in this event.

Last year more than 400 children attended the annual celebration. In addition to egg hunts for various age groups and non-sighted patients, this year's entertainment will feature games, prizes, clowns, storytellers, a magician, Casey the Elk, several Easter bunnies, face painting and a hands-on petting zoo. The event is free for the whole family.

Generous contributions from the Oregon State Elks Association and the Niemi Fund at the Casey Eye Institute make this annual Easter Egg Hunt possible. The Oregon Elks have a long history of helping visually impaired children and adults. Fifty years ago, the Oregon State Elks Association helped establish the first pediatric eye clinic in the United States at Oregon Health & Science University. The Oregon Elks Association has contributed millions of dollars in research and equipment, and thousands of volunteer hours toward the prevention and treatment of eye disease. Their generous donations pay for personnel, the latest equipment and technology, medical supplies, as well as corrective glasses and contact lenses for children who could not otherwise afford them.

The Portland Active 20-30 Club and the Lincoln High School ProActive Service Club have volunteered to help staff the egg hunt and the games. For more information or to RSVP attendance to the event, please contact Joannah Vaughan, Elks liaison at the Elks Children's Eye Clinic, at 503-494-3557.

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