All around St. Charles, many families had an early Easter celebration at senior Gabriel Wollak’s Bunny Bash on April 19, 2025.
The idea originated when Wollak was brainstorming ideas for his Service Learning Project (SLP), the culmination of his Leadership Studies class where he was to host an event to raise awareness for a cause of his choosing. When talking with his mother, an elementary school social worker, she suggested that he put on an event to unite families that have children with disabilities.
“Since my brother has Down syndrome, we are in a community with a lot of families like that,” said Wollak. “[So] we see the effects of having such a positive community bonding event on the families that are involved.”
Thus, Wollak created an event with various Easter activities to bring together families with disabilities, hosted at Primrose Farm. The festivities included egg hunts, Easter crafts, photography with the Easter Bunny, face painting, animal feeding, dancing and karaoke, pin-the-tail games and more. Another SLP called Alex’s Lemonade Stand also made an appearance, selling lemonade and cookies to raise money for childhood cancer treatment.
Not only did Wollak aim to unite families with children with disabilities, but he also wanted to provide an engaging experience for their siblings. “There’s a lot of resources for the kids with disabilities, but less for their siblings,” he said.
With all of the various activities Bunny Bash hosted, much preparation went in on Wollak’s side to ensure they all ran smoothly. After raising $575 dollars from the St. Charles Youth Commission, STCE’s Student Council and the School Store, Wollak put all of the money towards purchasing eggs, craft materials, candy, renting Primrose Farm and more.
The other aspect of preparation was gathering families to sign up for the event, which went much smoother than expected. Overall, there were around 100 attendees from 20-25 families.
Though the event was free for all, Wollak raised money through supplemental donations for Gigi’s Playhouse and their Down Syndrome Achievement Centers. The organization provides resources, support and jobs for families with children with Down syndrome, especially in their youth.
“They just do a lot for people with Down Syndrome, and it’s a really awesome nonprofit that’s expanding,” said Wollak, whose family has used many of their services in the past. With Bunny Bash, Wollak was able to raise $191 for Gigi’s Playhouse’s mission.
Wollak said the event was extremely successful, with lots of positive feedback from the families that attended. “I just liked seeing not only the kids interacting, but the parents interacting with other parents’ kids and seeing the bonding that was going on,” he said. “Walking around the whole farm and just seeing people having fun and being engaged with whatever they were doing, it just seemed like a really great time.”
Wollak encouraged others to continue to host similar events, with many lessons learned along the way. His biggest takeaway was understanding the importance of thorough planning. With all of his planning done in advance, the event ended up practically running itself.
“There’s a great need for that community with disabilities to put on events that unite families,” said Wollak. “I think they all loved it and would definitely go to more events like that in the future.”
Leadership Studies SLPs continued to run through May 10, 2025. If you’d like to support SLPs in the future, check the Orange & Black in spring 2026 or contact English teacher John Biernacki.
