Gainesville — Students and staff at North Central Texas College’s cosmetology department recently held an event they hope will make life easier for families facing domestic violence — a drive to collect personal hygiene and toiletry items.

The group donated the items it collected to the Abigail’s Arms and Friends of the Family crisis centers in Gainesville and Denton.

“When a woman is in crisis she leaves under extremely stressful conditions,” said Kelly Fiore-Watson, Abigail’s Arms community liaison. “Most of the time they can’t go back to their homes and gather any belongings. The donations will be a huge comfort for our clients when they are trying to piece their lives back together.”

Kim Cook, executive director of Abigail’s Arms, said  she appreciates the generous donations and is impressed that the students took the initiative to make a difference in the community.

“By your donations alone, you have offered support to the women in crisis in this community, and for that, I thank you,” Watson said, “Donations have come in from all over, GISD, churches, women’s organizations and we have even had individuals stop by our office and drop off a bag or two of products weekly. It is overwhelming to see when you ask for help in this town the community will stand up and make it happen.”

The students donated, shampoo, conditioners, hair care products from JKS international, brushes, body wash, hand soap, children’s tooth pastes and tooth brushes for mothers and children.

Watson said sometimes just taking time for a shower or bath can make a stressful situation a little better.

“My mom always said ‘When you are emotionally drained on the inside, sometimes just taking time to fix up the outside helps you take on stressful events,’” Watson said.

In addition to the cosmetology department’s toiletry drive, Watson said NCTC is one of the sites for Project REV.

The program, funded by federal grant money, provides resources for victims of the following types of crimes — dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Abigail’s Arms and Project REV recently teamed up to educate and advocate for college age women.

“Although NCTC is one of the safest college campuses in the country, it is vital that our students be informed about these issues,” Watson said. “College age women are at a disproportionally high risk for any of these crimes.”

Domestic violence doesn’t just involve physical abuse, she added.

“According to the United States Bureau of Justice statistics, over 3 million people are stalked each year in the United States,” Watson said.

Project Rev is designed to offer academic advocacy, counseling services, referrals, resources, assistance with protect orders, shelter services, presentations, trainings, and most importantly raise awareness through education of our community.

For more information on Project REV or Abigail’s Arms, contact Kelly Fiore-Watson at 940-6652873 or via email at kfiorewatson@abigailsarms.org