They give joyful Easter baskets to children in need

After passing out Easter baskets to kids in a local shelter, Quinn Gasparo felt called to make the project even bigger. Now, she partners with local schools to bring smiles to hundreds of kids every year!

- Kellie B. Gormly

Quinn Gasparo’s heart sank as she looked around the Milwaukee domestic violence shelter where she worked part-time. It's Easter, will these little kids get any baskets or candy? she wondered. The nursing student had seen donated Christmas gifts pour in for the women and children during the holidays, but in the spring, resources were scarce.

Quinn felt a tug on her heart to do something, and she approached her parents with an idea: “Let’s put together Easter baskets and deliver them to children at the shelter. We'll call it Baskets of Joy!”

Together, they made 10 Easter baskets—filled with goodies like both an indoor and outdoor toy, candy, a bottle of bubbles and chalk—and handed them out to the pure delight of kids.

Quinn ran Baskets of Joy mostly on her own for about 15 years, and she added new shelters every year. But the program grew so quickly that it became too much to balance with her full-time nursing job and wrangling her 4-year-old daughter, Rowan.

I can't keep this up all by myself, but it's making such a difference, Quinn thought in 2024, feeling desperate as another Easter season was upon her. There have to be others who would want to help these kids!

Quinn decided to put out a message on her social media page asking if anyone would be interested in lending an extra hand that Easter.

To Quinn’s surprise, she soon received just the response she had been hoping for.

Helpful hearts