Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State (BBBSOS) more than lived up to its mission statement on Saturday by treating upwards of 200 children to a day of fun and ice skating at the University of Rhode Island’s Bradford R. Boss Arena in Kingston.

For more than two hours children from all over the state enjoyed skating with their mentors, as well as food and face painting. It was all designed to further BBBSOS’s mission to “provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relations that change their lives for the better, forever.”

“We had a lot of support from a lot of people,” said George Evans Marley, the marketing/outreach specialist at BBBSOS.

A large portion of the pizza that the children enjoyed was donated from Flatbread Company in Providence.

“It was organic and locally sourced flatbread pizza,” Marley said.

The rest of the food was made possible through the “Welcome to Summer Celebration,” an annual fundraising event the non-profit hosts each spring and this year will be held on June 21 – the first day of summer – at the Bonnet Shores Beach Club in Narragansett.

And that event, Marley emphasized, will feature the “Brass Attack” musical band and will be hosted by Tom Furey to benefit BBBSOS as well as several other local non-profit organizations. The night will include music, food and raffle prizes.

Saturday, though, the BBBSOS provided unmatched love and fellowship for each child that took the ice at Boss Arena.

Even the University of Rhode Island’s club hockey team and students from Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority helped make the day fun for children.