by Noella Noelophile®
This is so fun!” a preteen volunteer exclaimed, mid-morning. She was absolutely right.
Friday, Day Two of Long Beach nonprofit Community Action Team’s Operation Easter Basket, was a blast–as well as a record-breaker. By the end of the day, 2,546 completed Easter baskets would be donated to families in need.
The morning started at nine, at Bay Shore Community Church, in Belmont Shore. 
Day One of Operation Easter Basket, on Thursday, had already yielded more than 1,600 completed baskets, for distribution to thirty-two local community agencies.
But, more than eight hundred more were needed, within the next seven hours. This year’s goal was 2, 379 baskets by 4 that afternoon.
At first, about twenty volunteers were onsite.
“Let me look at the first basket you make,” directed Operation Easter Basket founder and Long Beach “Chief Inspiration Officer” Justin Rudd, in a quick volunteer briefing. “Each one gets shampoo or body wash, toothbrush and toothpaste, a small toy, stationery or art supplies, two large candies, five small ones…”
Within minutes, the activity in the room would have made a beehive look lazy.
The floor area filled up with completed baskets. Laughter and “Excuse me!”‘s filled the air as volunteers navigated the tables to fill more of them.
In fact, at several points, a “traffic jam” ensued, with approximately sixty volunteers and completed baskets stacked on the floor. 
This was easily the most enjoyable “traffic jam” we’ve ever experienced.
“OK, we’re out of toothpaste,” Justin told the group at one point. “If you’re making a basket, finish that one and put it aside, unwrapped, till we get more.”
More supplies would be on their way in short order, as volunteers took to their social media to alert friends and followers.
Additional volunteers arrived in a steady stream–and so did more supplies and completed Easter baskets. Deliveries were continuous, throughout the time we were there.
Volunteers were hurrying for the door to help unload arriving cars, as well as transport baskets for pickup by the organizations to whom they’d been promised.
“This is amazing,” commented a smiling Reverend Dr. David Clark. As the new Senior Minister at Bay Shore Community Church, he was seeing Operation Easter Basket in action for the first time.
And what he was seeing, was a community involved in giving.
Local businesses, as well as community organizations, donated baskets. This group came from Hilton.
And the Helpful Honda Team also showed up, to help out!
By early afternoon, Operation Easter Basket 2015 was closing in on its “gooooal”.
But, even though the stated goal was 2,379 baskets, people didn’t stop there.
According to Operation Easter Basket’s Facebook page, the final total of baskets donated, for Easter 2015, was 2,546. That’s a record, outstripping last year’s 2,200.
What an incredible community Long Beach is! Happy Easter, everyone! And thank you to Justin Rudd (once again) for the inspiration.