Face painting, food and fun were just some of the things that took place Wednesday on Charlottesville's downtown mall. An end-of-the-year picnic and party for Children Youth and Family Services' Play Partners program was held at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion.
The program matches high-risk preschool kids with volunteers who read to them to boost their literacy skills at a young age. Volunteer Kate Berman says it is only an hour a week commitment, but she gets so much out of it.
"Working with these kids, volunteering is such a joy and we all have a good time. We just laugh and we sing and we play games and the kids learn ways of looking at things and we get a lot of hugs. It's just a win-win," she stated.
About 100 children came out for the festivities.
