Olivia Pappalardo, a sophomore at Southwestern High School, is seen with Diana Butcher, Salvation Army Anew Center program director, and her step-grandmother, Doris Pappalardo. Pappalardo raised $1,550 in monetary donations, $275 in gift cards and filled nine totes or laundry baskets with needed items. Submitted photo

A sophomore at Southwestern Central School recently completed a service project for her church.

Olivia Pappalardo is a member of St. James Church in Jamestown. The service project was part of her sacrament of Confirmation journey. She will be confirmed by Bishop of Buffalo Michael Fisher on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the church.

Pappalardo’s project was raising donations for The Salvation Army Anew Center’s domestic violence shelter. Pappalardo said she was given a few choices of what she could do, but eventually decided to help the shelter.

“When I saw the women’s domestic violence shelter, I immediately knew this was the one I wanted to help,” Pappalardo said. “I really sympathize with these women. What they’re going through stood out to me. I knew I needed to help them and I know how supportive and giving my family parish of St. James is. I had high hopes that we could help these women in need and we did.”

Once she decided what to do, Pappalardo then had to figure out the right people to get in contact with and how to get the word out about her project. She had to let her community know what she was hoping to accomplish and also what weekend she would be collecting once she had a plan. The domestic violence shelter has a specific wish list of items that they are most in need of, and Pappalardo said she put this list in the bulletin at the parish.

The Salvation Army was able to provide Pappalardo with information about the shelter and assist wherever necessary. Kristina Near, shelter manager, said the The Salvation Army Anew Center is the designated domestic violence center for Chautauqua County.

“We provide both residential and non-residential services,” Near said. “We do prevention education with community participation. We visit the schools and do family outreach with the child and the non-offending parent.”

Near said Pappalardo was able to raise a variety of items for the shelter, ranging from money and gift cards to overall supplies. Altogether, Pappalardo raised $1,550 in monetary donations, $275 in gift cards, and filled nine totes or laundry baskets with needed items from the shelter’s wish list, specifically household and cleaning supplies.

Pappalardo thanked the community for its help in raising the donations.

“I am beyond blessed at how generous and beneficial the community was,” she said. “The specific role from them, I’d say, was just being willing to help raise donations and donate resources.”

She also praised The Salvation Army for its willingness to help provide information so she could do the project.

“They were our direct connection in helping these women,” she said. “They instructed us on what items were needed the most and then they transported all the items collected to the shelter. I am very grateful they were willing to help us. They were so friendly and supportive.”

While Pappalardo has never done a “life-changing” project like this before, she said she would be more than willing to do something similar in the future, saying it was an amazing experience. She also encouraged people to focus on being kind.

“I just would like people to know that even small things can make a huge difference in other people’s lives,” Pappalardo said. “You never know what anyone is going through, so simple kindness really can impact someone’s life.”