Staff Writer
Movie Gallery and Pizza Hut in sister cities Caribou and Presque Isle teamed up to benefit the Battered Women’s Project recently.
The Battered Women’s Project received health and beauty aids donated by area almsgivers who dropped off the goods at Caribou and Presque Isle Movie Galleries. For every pair of health and beauty aid items or prepaid phones or phone cards donated, individuals could take home a free gallery rental and a coupon for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut, making dinner and a movie that much more of a feel-good experience.
“We did this in cooperation to raise needed items for the Battered Women’s Shelter. This is just a nice incentive during the holidays. This way, everyone gets a gift,” said Sharon Anderson, manager of the Caribou Movie Gallery.
According to Anderson, Mae Gorneault of Caribou started this project several years ago in memory of Tina Cousins, a local woman who lost her family and was killed in a domestic assault.
Kim Rohn, a volunteer for the Battered Women’s Project expressed her gratitude for the outpouring of generosity from businesses and individuals in the two cities. “The Battered Women’s Project really wants to thank Pizza Hut and Movie Gallery for donating their own items as incentives for this program and for the generosity of the community. Many people don’t realize that when women and their children come to the shelters, they may come with absolutely nothing,” Rohn said.
Movie Gallery donated ten 150-minute phone cards to shelters throughout Aroostook County, and Ricky Perry, Rohn’s 9-year-old son who is also a volunteer donated his Nintendo 64 to an area shelter. When a business donates, it may be considered generous, but when a child donates his beloved and coveted game, it may be called miraculous. “It was hard to give it up, but it has been there for three years and I have other games now,” Perry said.
“He knows that what he did really helped other kids. I think people are generally becoming more aware of the problems and dangers of domestic violence. We have been donating for years and we have passed it on to our children, I think many other families are doing the same,” Rohn said.
Rohn also stated that since she has been affiliated with the Battered Women’s Project, she has noticed that this year area residents and businesses have donated more than in other years, a trend that indicates not only generosity and empathy, but a growing social awareness and perception of the threats of domestic violence.
