This year, Easter falls on Sunday, March 27, 2016, and many organizations throughout Hendricks County offer Easter egg hunts and other activities for OUR KIDS during the month of March.

Here is a list of Easter egg hunts and activities that I know of that are taking place within Hendricks County for 2016.

As always, if I have overlooked an event that you know of, please contact me and let me know so that I can add it to the list!

Easter is right around the corner (Sunday, April 5), and if you're looking for Easter egg hunts for the kids, we've done the research for you.

Here are the Easter egg hunts in Hendricks County that we're aware of in 2015 (and if you know of any hunts that aren't listed here, please contact us so that we can add them!):

The inaugural Hendricks County Youth Sports Fair is right around the corner! Make plans to be at the Danville Community High School auxiliary gym this Saturday (Jan. 24) between 1 and 5 p.m. to see me, Meghan Stritar from Macaroni Kid-Hendricks, and all of these great vendors!

Wouldn't it be great if there was a place designed for OUR KIDS with special needs to play organized sports on a playing surface that is conducive to all forms of mobility?

Thanks to the Optimist Miracle Movers, such a place is about to exist in Plainfield. 

Located at the Al & Jan Barker Sports Complex, 451 S. Vestal Road in Plainfield, the new Optimist Miracle Movers Field is almost completed and is scheduled to open on Sept. 20.

Karen Cravotta, a pediatric physical therapist who coaches swimming through the Optimist Miracle Movers, was our guest speaker today at our Kiwanis Club of Danville meeting, and she enlightened all of us about this multi-year joint project spearheaded by the Town of Plainfield and the Optimist Club of Plainfield.

Surely by now, you've seen all sorts of videos on social media of people getting buckets of ice water poured over their heads in support of ALS -- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. 

Yet I still find people who don't understand the Ice Bucket Challenge or what it does for the ALS Association. (Hey, I'm not judging. I had to do some research myself.)

I got tired of staring at the boring ol' "Blog" title at the top of this blog. The blog needed a name and some personality -- something that embraces what They're Our Kids is all about.

Welcome, then, to The Village.

To paraphrase an African proverb, it takes a village to raise OUR KIDS. It has long been a belief of mine that no one can effectively raise a child on their own. It takes family, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches and other role models. 

It takes an entire community.

It takes an entire community because we all have different talents, interests, areas of expertise and life experiences to share. OUR KIDS' lives are exponentially enriched by all of the villagers around them because OUR KIDS observe and learn from everyone with whom they have contact. 

OUR KIDS are exposed to new things and exciting adventures when an entire village takes an interest in their development. They're kept safe and out of trouble when an entire village keeps an eye on them. And ultimately, the village benefits when OUR KIDS grow up and become contributing villagers themselves.

This is the premise around which They're Our Kids is built. We're all members of a community, and each child in that community is one of OUR KIDS.

I envision They're Our Kids as an online village where we can all come together in one spot and learn about our schools, local events and other community resources that assist us in raising OUR KIDS. The more villagers we have seeking and sharing resources and experiences, the better.

Now that we have our Village, we need Villagers.

Note the capital 'V' in Villagers. We're not talking about run-of-the-mill villagers now.  We're talking about the special, dedicated Villagers who cherish OUR KIDS.

Our Villagers buy into the philosophy that it takes a special, dedicated Village to raise OUR KIDS, and that the more Villagers we have seeking and sharing resources and experiences, the better for all of us.

Our Villagers are those who subscribe to our blog (note the new feature in the right-hand column of this blog and on our home page), who spread the word about They're Our Kids and this blog to their friends and family, who "like" and share and actively participate on our Facebook page, who follow us on Twitter.

Our Villagers offer suggestions for additions to the They're Our Kids website, share kid-related resources that they find helpful so that those resources can be added to the site, and share family-friendly events in the area that they'd like other Villagers to know about.

Got some writing skills (don't worry...you don't have to be perfect -- or anywhere close to it) and a story to share with other Villagers about your experiences as a parent or something fun that you did with your kids? Contact me about submitting a guest blog entry! I'd love to read about your experiences, and I'm sure other Villagers would, too.

(Unfortunately, I cannot offer monetary compensation for guest bloggers. I don't get paid to do this, either.)

I've already had some Villagers alert me to Easter Egg hunts in Hendricks County that I didn't know about, special needs resources that they value for their own special needs kids, youth sports leagues that I didn't know existed (did you know that there's a youth LACROSSE league in Brownsburg?!), and suggestions for pages on local service clubs and local media and publications.

I LOVE the extra eyes and ears, and I want all the Villagers I can get! Together, we can cover Hendricks County like a blanket and make our Village an invaluable resource for parents in the area, as well as for parents who want to learn more about our area.

And OUR KIDS are going to be the ones who benefit.

Will you please become a Villager?

I spoke to the Danville Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) last night about They're Our Kids and had a great time.  The parents, teachers and administrators in the audience appeared to enjoy the presentation, and they gave me some great feedback and suggestions for the website.

One of those fantastic suggestions was to add a page to They're Our Kids about service clubs in our community.  As an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Danville, I thought that was a terrific idea!  So I did some research and came up with as many service clubs around Hendricks County as I could think of, and I'm pleased to present to you the new Service Clubs page on They're Our Kids!

I still need your help, though.  It would not surprise me at all if I have missed more than one service club in our community, so if you know of a club that is missing from the page, please contact me so that I can add it.

I also realized through my substitute teaching and friendships with parents of special needs kids that They're Our Kids lacked a meaningful set of resources for Hendricks County parents with similar challenges.

I put out a call for help on the They're Our Kids Facebook page, and a special thanks goes out to Jacki Copeland and to Dave Giltner of Hendricks County Home magazine for all of the excellent special needs resources they shared with me.

As a result of their assistance, I'd like to unveil the new Special Needs page on They're Our Kids!

As with the Service Clubs page, I could still use your help finding more resources for parents of special needs kids.  It takes a village to raise a child, and the larger the village we have, the more resources we can pull together for the children of our community.  So please don't hesitate to contact me with the sites that you go to in order to find special needs information, so I can add them to They're Our Kids.

Danville parents, teachers and administrators gave me even more ideas for near-future additions to They're Our Kids: an Arts page (for youth activities involving art, music, theater, etc.) and a Health & Nutrition page.  I will be getting to work on those pages very soon, so start sending me your ideas for what links should be included on each of them!

They noted a local swim club and a middle school volleyball club that I hadn't included on the Sports page (they're there now!) and suggested some additional information to be included on the buttons relating to Danville schools (also there now).

I think I learned more from the Danville Elementary PTO than I showed them about They're Our Kids, so I came home with a huge smile on my face and a renewed energy to keep building this resource.  Thank you, Danville!

Now I'd like to come speak to other PTO's around the county so that I can get more great input and community-specific suggestions for They're Our Kids.  Are you involved in your community's PTO?  Contact me, and I'll be happy to come speak to your group!