Jerod MacDonald-Evoy

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix put a unique spin on an old tradition Saturday morning with a beeping Easter Egg hunt for children with visual impairments.

The 102 year old non-profit agency hosted a variety of events for children with and without visual disabilities Saturday at its central Phoenix location near Northern Avenue and 12th Street, including face painting, bag and egg decorating and the ever-popular "bounce house."

But the main event was the one-of-a-kind beeping Easter Egg hunt, in which children of all ages used the sound of the beeping eggs to guide them to candy filled eggs. Even kids without impairments could participate as long as they wore a blindfold.

"We strive to make it just like any other typical event," said Steve Pawlowski, the federation's communications and business development director. Organizers are constantly attempting to find ways to make certain events and activities more accessible to children with visual impairments, Pawlowski said.

The giant pink beeping eggs for the hunt were created by a group of Boy Scouts several years ago as part of an Eagle Scout project, according to Cody Franklin, youth and family services director.

The event normally draws 100 to 150 people from all walks of life and, "don't let the name fool you," Franklin said, the group helps people with visual impairments of all ages. The oldest person the federation is currently helping is 103, Franklin said.

David Nigro, 36, has been coming to the event for three years with his kids. Nigro's 3-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Albinism, a congenital disorder characterized by a lack of pigment and visual impairments, when she was seven days old.

"The doctor handed me a pamphlet on the foundation," Nigro said, and he has been working with the group ever since.

Many parents talked about how grateful they were for the federation. First-time attendee Kendra Reece, 36, of Tucson, found out about the group through internet research.

Reece's daughter is blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. Reece struggled to find a place to help her take care of her daughter and teach her skills that would help her in life.

"It's been a learning experience," she said as she held her daughter, adding that she was thankful to find a place in Phoenix to help.

Volunteers with the Arizona State University chapter of the Delta Gamma Fraternity made sure the eggs were beeping before watching the kids grab as many eggs as they could.

"It's so cute," said ASU freshman and Delta Gamma member Ashley Goes, 19, adding "it's really rewarding seeing their smiling faces."

"We try to do everything everyone else does and modify it," said federation CEO Marc Ashton, whose own son, now 20, is blind. The group has taken children on hikes around the Grand Canyon, Mt. Kilimanjaro and even to a swimming competition in the San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz.

"It's very rewarding," Ashton said as he watched children anxiously awaiting the first egg hunt to begin.

In two weeks, the fedaration will be participating in a warrior dash and the kids are already training for the Army-style run. The event will take place April 9.