Richland One Students Celebrate with Lunch Buddy Volunteers

On Tuesday, April 4 hundreds of adult volunteers and the Richland One students they have befriended met at various locations across the city to have some fun and celebrate the success of the Lunch Buddy program. A Lunch Buddy is a caring adult who spends two hours a month with a Richland One student, sharing food, fun and friendship. This year, more than 800 students and community volunteers are participating in the program, which included Tuesday’s end-of-the-year activities.

Students and their lunch buddies met at the following locations for picnics/lunch:

* Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens
* Blowfish Stadium
* Finlay Park
* Roy Lynch Park
* Red Wing Skating Rink

Grade-level activity packets were provided for students to complete while visiting with their lunch buddy. Participants in the 2006 Lunch Buddy Picnics include the following organizations: Palmetto Health Richland Hospital, the State Department of Education, McEntire Air National Guard, Bell South, Dorn VA Hospital, Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital, SC Chapter of Blacks in Criminal Justice, SC Department of Corrections, SC Department of Social Services, SC Department of Juvenile Justice, United Way of the Midlands, SC Department of Transportation, SCE&G, Colonial Life Insurance, Midlands Technical College, Pepsi Bottling Company and the Governor’s Office of Continuum Care.

For more information, please contact Katy Watkins at 231-7511 or the Richland One Office of Communications at 231-7510 or 231-7504.