In Bonita Springs, blind and visually-impaired children had their own Easter egg hunt

Soon after Jeremiah Reyes first opened his eyes, his parents knew he would have impaired vision.

"We noticed his eyes going back and forth," said Peter Reyes, Jeremiah's father. "And we noticed that one eye was smaller than the other."

Despite having reached that early conclusion about their son's sight, the couple lacked immediate understanding of what Jeremiah's life could be like, Peter Reyes said, so they did a lot of research.

"It doesn't quite sink in at first," Peter Reyes said. "It was heartbreaking."

The parents enrolled then one-year-old Jeremiah in programs at Lighthouse of Collier, a nonprofit that trains blind and visually-impaired persons for independent life.

Three years later, Jeremiah is thriving.

"He's not trailing behind," Peter Reyes said. "You wouldn't even know."

On the Saturday before Easter, Jeremiah was one of up to a dozen children with similar stories who participated in an egg hunt that Lighthouse of Collier organized.

The hunt took place during Royal Scoop Homemade Ice Cream's 23rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Games, which draws hundreds of kids and their families for a day of joy and celebration.

After the boisterous egg hunts for children who have full sight, Jeremiah and his Lighthouse friends had their own time to search for treats amid the grass.

Sight is a big part of a traditional hunt. Eggs come in colors meant to stand out. A child must be quick or risk being thwarted by someone else.

Lighthouse of Collier tweaked that formula.

The nonprofit used battery-powered talking Easter eggs to guide its children. (The eggs beckoned with "Yoohoo, I'm hiding.")

Each child had a sighted person helping him or her search. And best of all, the Lighthouse children were in no rush.

"It's nice to have this with other children at (Jeremiah's) own speed," said Peter Reyes.

Robin Goldstone Garcia, executive director of Lighthouse of Collier, said the egg hunt is one way the group can ensure that blind and visually-impaired persons and their families are not segregated from the seeing world.

"This isn't the end of life. You just have to learn things differently," Goldstone Garcia said. "That's what we're here to teach."

Lighthouse of Collier is approaching its eighth year of providing free services.

This summer, it will host five weeks of children's camp. The kids will visit places around Southwest Florida to learn more about the community they live in, Goldstone Garcia said.

"We want them to be able to experience the real world," she said.

The nonprofit has the goal of buying a van to transport its students to and from programs so even more people can participate, Goldstone Garcia said.

"We are working on it."

Lighthouse of Collier

Opened May 5, 2009

Address: 2865 Horseshoe Drive South, Naples

Phone number: 239-430-3934

Websites: LighthouseofCollier.org and facebook.com/lighthouseofcollier/