Donation Drive to Benefit Local Domestic Violence Shelters

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office’s fourth annual donation drive for local domestic violence shelters is set to get underway. 

The donation drive has been coordinated over the years by students at South Range High School, who have worked to spread the effort to other schools in Mahoning County. Over the past three years, more than 14,000 items have been collected.

“Our Special Victims Unit works relentlessly in the courtroom to send a clear message that domestic violence will not be tolerated in Mahoning County,” said Gina DeGenova, Mahoning County prosecutor. “As prosecutor, it is also critical to support community initiatives that ensure that survivors of domestic violence have access to clothing, food and other necessities, allowing them to focus on rebuilding their lives.”

The donation drive is based on a “wish list” of items identified by the Sojourner House Domestic Violence Program. Sojourner House, a program of Compass Community and Family Services, provides shelter and other essential services to victims of domestic violence across Mahoning County.

Some of the items on the wish list include gift cards to grocery stores, twin XL sheets with pillowcases, standard-size pillows, undershirts (all infant sizes), plastic food storage containers, teething rings, bath towels and washcloths, socks of all sizes, personal hygiene products, ethnic hair care products and sleepwear (especially plus sizes for women).

Donations can be dropped off in the lobby of the Mahoning County Administration Building, 21 W. Boardman St., and the Mahoning County Courthouse, 120 Market St., from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Schools and local organizations that would like to participate can contact Isabella Caruso-Harris, director of programming at the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office, at 330 740 2330, ext.7259, or [email protected].

Pictured at top: Items that were collected during a past donation drive. (Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office)

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.