900 eggs and counting…

Sunday 28 March 2021

Jersey's ‘Lockdown Hero’ is appealing to islanders’ generosity in a final push to help his Easter Egg collection for disadvantaged local children reach a total of 1,000.

Le Salon's Dominic Basilio (33) has already collected 900 eggs, which will be distributed to three children’s charities: the Jersey Childcare Trust, Brighter Futures and Causeway, as well as Mont À L’Abbé School.

Dominic first got into giving during lockdown last year.

Unable to work, he spent 12 weeks volunteering at the Salvation Army food bank, where he packed thousands of bags for local families, each with a personal touch. The efforts saw him crowned Jersey's 'Lockdown Hero' following an island-wide search by Express and TMF.

Pictured: Dominic distributed over 870 toys to local children for Christmas.

Having gone on to smash a target of getting 500 toys for local children at Christmas, the local hero set himself a new challenge ahead of Easter.

After reaching his initial target of 500 in just a few weeks, Dominic, who admits he has a “competitive” spirit, decided to challenge himself to collect 1,000 eggs. 

With only a week to go before the holiday and only 100 eggs needed to reach his target, Dominic is appealing to islanders’ generosity in a final push to get him over the line. 

Pictured: “I’m already up to 900 so it’s a massive success," Dominic said.

“The egg collection has gone so well and has exceeded my expectations,” he told Express.

“I think coming off the toy drive has helped as a lot of the same people donated for this drive so it’s kept the momentum going. 

“I’m already up to 900 so it’s a massive success. If I think from November to now 872 toys and now 900 eggs in such a short space of time, it just goes to show how many kind people we have on this island.”

Pictured: Dominic organised a raffle for all islanders who donated eggs for his collection, and a ‘Scrumdiddlyumptious Easter Hamper' is among the prizes up for grabs. 

As with his Christmas toy drive, Dominic has organised a raffle for anyone who donates an egg, with a ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ theme.

The first prize will be ‘Dom’s Golden Ticket’ - a £200 voucher, the second a ‘Scrumdiddlyumptious Easter Hamper’ full of seasonal goodies and the third one, hair products, which Dominic says are his “signature”.

While his collection is nearing its end, Dominic already has his sight on another challenge: on 17 April he will be taking part in a charity abseil at Mont Orgueil Castle. Organised by Cheyenne O’Connor, the event aims to raise £700 for Jersey Women’s Refuge. 

Pictured: Dominic will be distributing the eggs to three local children’s charities: the Jersey Childcare Trust, Brighter Futures and Causeway, as well as Mont A L’Abbé school.

“Santa and Easter Bunny complete, [so I'm] diving straight into Spider-Man now,” Dominic joked. “I’m pretty terrified of heights but I’m planning to not look down or maybe see if there is an option to be piggyback it!

“There’s a group of us doing it so it should be a bit of fun or fear for a great cause.

“Not only has it been amazing to see how all of this has benefited these charities and created many happy children but it’s also been amazing meeting many other people doing amazing things that I may have never met otherwise.”