Nativity BVM students deliver donated supplies to the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - A group of kindergarteners from Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic School delivered a variety of supplies to the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence.

These supplies were collected by the school to be donated to the center’s domestic violence shelter.

Kindergartener Jonas Neaves said giving to the less fortunate made him happy.

“We gave them some towels to dry them off and a big heart for Valentine’s Day, so they can have a little happy Valentine’s Day,” Neaves said.

Traci Kessler is the principal at Nativity BVM. She said the donation was a way of giving back to the community.

“Part of the mission of our school is to live a life of service,” Kessler said. “That is something we teach our children every single day.”

The students make the distribution as part of a community service project for National Catholic Schools Week.

The center opened in 1977 as a safe house for domestic violence victims. Since then, it’s grown to be the most comprehensive program in the state of Mississippi.

Rene Davis, communications director for the center, said she hopes this donation will inspire members of the community to support victims of domestic violence.

“One in four women across the country and about one in seven men at some point will be a victim of domestic violence,” Davis said. “This is something that affects a large sector of our community. It really deserves the care, compassion and involvement of everyone in our community.”

Kessler said she hopes this massive gift gives the residents in the shelter a reason to smile.

“Just a little bit of home something that’s comforting to them that they can receive so they know someone cares about them during this hard time in their lives,” she said.

The Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence crisis line is 800-800-1396.

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