Easter basket building extravaganza at Trinity Church in Menlo Park

After the 10:00 am service at Trinity Church in Menlo Park this morning, adults and kids gathered to put together 350 Easter baskets that will be delivered to children in local shelters, including Haven House, Redwood Family Shelter and Crossroads Family Shelter, along with Redwood City Friends of Literacy Project READ children’s program.

This is the ninth year of the build, which initially was held at the home of parishioners Holly and David Tambling. Moving it to Trinity Hall allowed for a lot more baskets to be made.

As the force behind making it happen every year, Holly gives growing credit to her two children, Ainsley and James (pictured with Holly), who are now at an age where they can really help out. She admits to drawing on her organizational skills to make the event run smoothly.

Builders select a basket and then stop at each station, selecting items such as stuffed toys (Holly’s favorite!), outdoor play equipment, chocolate eggs and bunnies along with plastic eggs that get filled with candy.

“This is just one of the gratifying things I do all year,” said Holly, who is a an attorney by profession. “And I love that every basket is different, reflecting the preferences of the builder and the age of the kid.”

Photo by Linda Hubbard (c) 2017