Community Corner

'Caring Bunny' Comes to South Hills Village

The mall will open early for families that have children with special needs.

The "Caring Bunny" will hop on over to South Hills Village from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 24 in the lower level north court.

Caring Bunny is a special event dedicated to families that have children with special needs, providing a subdued environment to visit this year’s bunny photo experience.

Many steps will be taken to reduce sensory triggers, creating a more comforting environment for the children’s magical visit with the Bunny during this event. This environment will include:

Find out what's happening in Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Turning off in-mall music, dimming the lights, and shutting down fountains for the duration of the event.
  • Providing special activities and stories geared toward the needs of the child during the ‘wait’ period to help the child understand what activities will occur during the visit. 

“Last year, we saw families who received a bunny photo with their child for the very first time,” said Sheryl Young, CEO of AbilityPath.org. “We are fortunate to have terrific alliances with Simon and their photo operators who have worked with us to lessen potential triggers, like having the event occur during private mall hours and other slight adjustments that help provide a calmer sensory-friendly environment for all children to enjoy.”

The Outdoor Classroom will be assisting and providing a special craft.

Find out what's happening in Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The presenting sponsor for the 2013 Bunny Photo Experience is Gymboree. Serving as an associate sponsor this year is Scanimalz.

Like Patch on Facebook. | Follow Patch on Twitter. | Sign up for the daily email newsletter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here