NATCHEZ — This holiday season, Pleasant Acre Day School is hoping for a few extra helping hands to make the school’s Christmas wish come true.

The students at Pleasant Acre, a learning center for adults with special needs, are hoping for a little extra space soon for their “cottage industry,” Director Mary Ann Foggo-Eidt said.

Pleasant Acre students sort through Mardi Gras beads donated to the school and organize them first based on color then by length and diameter. The students then package the beads to be sold at the school’s Beads Galore Shop.

The proceeds from the bead sales support field trips for the students.

Over the years, the community’s overwhelming support of the bead donation program has meant the school is running out of room for the program.

Pleasant Acre has earmarked donations to add on to its current building for extra space, and Foggo-Eidt said the school is now hoping local residents with carpentry, electrical and other building skills will donate their time to help keep labor costs down.

“I know there are so many people in our community with these talents, and we are hoping they can donate their time and talents to helping us,” she said.

Foggo-Eidt said Pleasant Acre has depended on the generosity of the Miss-Lou since the school opened in 1959. The curriculum in place at the school helps students acquire life skills and self-help skills through life enrichment programs.

“There are no federal or state or city or county monies available to us,” she said. “We depend wholly on the wonderful support we receive to keep the doors open.”

Anyone wishing to donate to the school can mail checks to P.O. Box 1362, Natchez, MS, 39121 or contact Foggo-Eidt at 601-442-2264.
Pleasant Acre is located at 335 Liberty Road.