Cortana Mall was packed last Saturday, and not all the people there came for the great shopping deals alone.  Hundreds of people also were there to participate in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s Pre-School Palooza. 

Sponsored by Safe Schools, Healthy Students; Cortana Mall; and the School System, the free event offered one-stop shopping for those with children ages 0 to 6 and community services available to them.  Some of the organizations present included:  Children’s Coalition of Great Baton Rouge, LSU Ag Center Extension Food and Nutrition Education Program, Families Helping Families, Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge, Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana VOA Partnerships in Children and many more.  The Safety Council alone gave away 17 car seats and conducted lessons on installing them correctly.

Volunteers included students from LSU’s College of Education, including those from the university chapter of Association for the Education of Young Children (pictured with children).  At the Palooza, those LSU students helped children participate in developmentally appropriate activities and explained the usefulness of the activity.