Troy — For kids whose families have undergone hardship, a lawn covered in candy-filled eggs might be just the thing to brighten their Easter morning.

Local nonprofit Catholic bookstore Faith@Work in Troy has brought this colorful surprise to local children since 2003, with thousands of plastic eggs distributed each year for Easter.

The concept is simple but effective: in the weeks leading up to Easter, Faith@Work collects thousands of eggs stuffed with candy, change, tiny toys and fortune cookie-sized prayers.

At the same time, the bookstore collects names of families who have been suggested for that year’s “Easter Egg Drop.” Typically, these families have suffered hardships ranging from the death of a loved one to an illness or lost job.

The evening of Holy Saturday, volunteers dress in dark clothing and quietly scatter eggs all over the families’ lawns.

They also drop eggs at local organizations including South Oakland Shelter (SOS) and Mary’s Mantle, a Catholic home for unwed mothers.

“To think what it must look like from heaven on Easter morning,” said Beth Collison, Faith@Work’s owner, whose family was inspired to start the Easter Egg Drop 12 years ago when a friend’s young daughter had cancer.

This year, thanks to egg donations from Faith@Work customers, friends, and even nearby Troy parish St. Anastasia, Faith@Work planned to “drop” more than 8,000 eggs.

“People often bring the eggs back to be re-stuffed” the following year, said Collison, a cost-effective plan considering the amount of eggs distributed annually.

And the Easter Egg Drop has more than little ones in mind: Collison said a local family with two teens had once undergone a hardship, and they were just as delighted to see their lawn covered in the multicolored eggs on Easter.

 

How to help next year

This year’s Easter Egg Drop has been accomplished, but if you’d like to participate next year, contact Faith@Work Bookstore at (248) 250-9216 or email [email protected].