Thrill of the hunt spells Victory at East Side community center

By Sean Barron

Tutoring and after-school programs are offered at the center.

YOUNGSTOWN — When it comes to celebrating Easter, attending church services, spending time with relatives and enjoying a good meal are at the top of Mykell D. Wilder’s and Artra Brown’s lists.

And it never hurts to throw in the occasional Easter egg hunt.

“I like hunting” for eggs, said 11-year-old Mykell, a fifth-grader at Eagle Heights Academy, adding that he also looks forward to going to his aunt’s home and playing with a cousin.

Artra, 11, a fifth-grader at the Youngstown Academy of Excellence, added cookouts to her favorites list.

Mykell and Artra were among a few dozen youngsters living in the Victory Estates housing developments who took advantage of an hourlong egg hunt at Victory Estates Community Center, 690 Magnolia Ave., on the city’s East Side.

Sunny but cool weather greeted participants of the event, sponsored by Old Glory Interdenominational Church.

Beforehand, several parents and volunteers carefully scattered more than 100 colored eggs inside a fenced-in field adjacent to the community center. It wasn’t long before the enclosed space became a magnet for the youngsters age 3 to 13, many of whom were equipped with plastic bags for collecting their finds.

The field’s increasingly green and lengthening grass provided ideal camouflage covers for many of the estimated 13 dozen painted eggs.

The largest number gathered by one person was nine; Mykell found eight.

About 90 residents live at Victory, which also offers an after-school tutorial and summer feeding program for children, noted Frances Gray, counselor president of the Victory Estates Residence Association. During the summer, the association also works with the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, Gray said.

Among the activities provided are birthday parties and movies for youngsters; plans are in the works to start computer classes for the kids, she added.

Gray praised and thanked the 10 volunteers for assisting with the Easter egg hunt, as well as for helping the youngsters with their school work and making sure they’re properly fed.

Eggs and candy were given to the children who failed to find any eggs. Those who found the most also were awarded with frozen treats.

“We don’t let them go empty-handed,” Gray added with a chuckle.