Wearing umbrella-shaped name tags and sporting wide juice-mustache smiles, 21 children between the ages of 3 and 5 spent a special day with the Easter Bunny.

While many people think this scene is reminiscent of early spring, to the children of the Centre County Head Start program yesterday, an Easter egg hunt led by a lively bunny was something entirely new.

More than 25 members of Chi Omega sorority, 101 South Haller, warmed the hearts of the children and their onlooking mothers yesterday from 10:30 a.m. to noon at their second annual Easter Kindness philanthropy.

The event provides kids enrolled in a program for disadvantaged children with attention they don't always receive at home, said sorority member Caroline Critchfield (sophomore-international politics).

"It is a really good idea for a philanthropy," Critchfield said. "Instead of giving money to an organization, we spend valuable one-on-one time with the kids."

"A lot of these kids need extra attention," Amy Wible, a first-year Head Start teacher, said. "(Head Start) gives them a start before kindergarten with socialization and educational skills."

Critchfield said that some of the children have learning disabilities and many come from backgrounds in which they do not receive enough attention.

Sorority member Susan Rado (senior-photography) dressed in a furry white bunny costume and bounced around with the children throughout the event, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

"They loved me!" Rado said. "It was not a problem at all keeping the energy level up, especially since I've wanted to be the bunny for so long -- finally, I did it, and they loved me!"

Rado ran and rolled around the lawn behind Haller with the children during the egg hunt giving them hugs and kisses and allowing herself to be used as a trampoline.

"One of the kids, Chucky, was so cool, he was running around and smiling and he gave me a big kiss at the end," Rado added.

Wible said the program is beneficial to the children since a few may never have celebrated Easter.

Other activites included egg decorating, arts and crafts, sugar-free snacks and even a game of hokeypokey.

Before the children boarded their bus, sorority members gave each one a basket filled with bubbles, Play Doh, fruits and granola bars.

Funding for the festivities came from a special sorority fund designated for the philanthropy, Critchfield said.