The weather didn’t cooperate, but that didn’t stop excited kids at the Hope Blooms 7th Annual Egg Hunt from their quest for eggs.

 

Approximately 125 people attended the Clear Lake event March 26, down from their usual number of 300 plus due to the chilly temperature. The weather didn’t dampen the spirits of those that did attend however. Along with the egg hunt trails, which were separated into beginner, intermediate, advanced and wheelchair, there was a bounce house, food and outdoor games.

 

The event was catered towards foster and adoptive families with hard to place children. Shannon Marklowitz, who founded Hope Blooms with her husband, Wayne, and parents Gary and Diane Doering in 2008, explained many of these families don’t do things like this very often because their children don’t always behave like other children. The annual egg hunt is a safe place for them and their families to interact and enjoy time with each other.

 

Hope Blooms was born after Marklowitz’s children had all started school and she was ready for a different challenge.

 

“I always knew I wanted to do something more meaningful,” she said. “I started researching and discovered this area of adoption and foster care services was really lacking.”

 

Along with providing this support, Hope Blooms is currently working with church groups that already have adoption assistance in place to teach ‘Trust-Based Parenting,’ a different style of parenting for parents of children with trauma-based behavioral issues.

 

Children who have experienced abuse, neglect, abandonment and/or trauma in early life often behave in ways that are confusing, frustrating and difficult to manage. Trust-Based Parenting uses proven skills and strategies parents can apply to everyday life to help build stronger parent-child connections, which leads to better behavior.

 

Hope Blooms currently has an office in Clear Lake, but will be moving just north of town. Their long-term goal is to eventually have a therapeutic barn where they will offer therapeutic animal services. 

“It’s so essential for children to have alternatives,” explained Marklowitz. “ It’s a whole new world out there and animals help them with this.”

 

Hope Blooms is a non-profit organization and relies solely on donations to operate. Currently they are supported mainly by the Clear Lake Lions, who also helped make their wheelchair assessable trail. Their mission is to help families thrive, and get children into good, stable, caring homes.

 

To learn more about Hope Blooms, visit their website at www.hopeblooms.org.