Easter baskets will go to Hope’s Place Chocolate Extravaganza

This spring, Girl Scout Troop 2427, of Ironton, is taking a break from selling cookies to deliver something even sweeter to the community, a basket full of goodies.

Troop leaders Mandy Leach-Justice and Heather Lambert helped the girls gather outdoor play and gardening items for an Easter basket they will donate to Hope’s Place’s annual fundraiser, Chocolate Extravaganza.

“Hope’s Place is there when a child gets hurt and they need help or need someone to talk to,” Leach-Justice explained to the group of elementary school girls as they assembled Easter baskets.

The Girl Scout Promise the troop recites at the beginning of each meeting includes a vow to “help people at all times” and the donations they prepared are a part of how they live up to that vow.

Located in Ashland, Kentucky, Hope’s Place is the closest children’s advocacy center that serves Lawrence County. If their services weren’t available, residents would have to travel 70 miles to Chillicothe to get comparable services.

The annual Chocolate Extravaganza helps fund a range of services for child victims of physical and sexual abuse, such as forensic medical exams and interviews, counseling, advocacy and medical exams, if needed. Over 500 child survivors of abuse were served by the center last year.

Easter baskets, like the ones assembled by the Ironton Girl Scout troop, will be sold from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 8-12 at Hope’s Place on Greenup Avenue in Ashland. There will then be a chocolate tasting on April 13 at the Ashland Town Center Mall.

Easter basket donations are being taken until April 6 and chocolate vendors are still being accepted.

For more information, contact Tiffany Jobe, Hope’s Place’s Development Coordinator, at 606-325-4737.