Platte County prosecutors traded suits for shorts on June 30, as they volunteered with one of their closest community partners, Synergy Services. Those prosecutors are used to advocating on behalf of child crime victims, but they spent last Friday in indoor relay races with them and ended the day a friendly water balloon fight.

As part of the office's WE CARE program, prosecutors and staff spent a hot summer afternoon playing games with children at Synergy Services' Jennifer & Jamie Children's Center.

Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, "We spend a lot of time with children in court, but it's a lot more fun to spend time with them tossing water balloons. Getting to know kids in a fun environment helps us do our jobs even better when we work to hold their abusers accountable."

The Platte County Prosecuting Attorney's Office WE CARE program takes prosecutors and staff out of the office and into the community once each quarter. The idea, Zahnd says, is to spend some time volunteering for the same agencies they partner with in court.

Synergy Services is the most-recent site the prosecuting attorney's office has visited. Synergy provides a wide array of social services in the Northland, including a domestic violence shelter and a child advocacy center that conducts specialized forensic interviews of children who have suffered or witnessed abuse. Those services bring the agency's employees and clients into regular contact with the prosecuting attorney's office.

Synergy Services' Co-Executive Director Robin Winner said, "Synergy really appreciated the opportunity to have the team from the Platte County prosecutor's office as special volunteers at our Children's Center last Friday! We so value the support and caring they offer for our clients and staff every day--they truly demonstrate that they care in so many ways!

For more information about Synergy Services or to volunteer to serve there, visit synergyservices.org.