NATCHEZ — The list of needed donations at Pleasant Acre Day School is long, just like any other non-profit agency, but one request is topping the list this year — safety and security.

Director Mary Ann Foggo-Eidt wants to have a gate on the school grounds repaired so the perimeter of the school building can be locked.

“We have a fence that is a wonderful fence,” Eidt said. “And we have a double-wide gate that has fallen to pieces. We really need to get that fixed.”

Currently the school is wiring the gate to the fence, but it’s hardly secure, Eidt said.

Eidt hasn’t found a local company that can repair the gate and has asked a Jackson company for a quote but got no reply.

She’s estimating the job will costs a few hundred dollars.

Monetary donations toward the gate repair are welcome, or, if someone out there thinks they can fix it, Eidt is happy to talk.

Inside the fence, the students of Pleasant Acre are learning and enjoying life as much as always, Eidt said.

Pleasant Acre is a day-treatment program for adult, trainable, mentally challenged students. The curriculum in place helps students acquire life skills and self-help skills through life enrichment programs. The program, which is currently full, can service 10 students.

The students operate a Mardi Gras bead store and the Some-N-Special Shop to learn skills and generate a small income for the school.

Sales are currently down at the thrift shop, Eidt said, and the community is encouraged to come out and browse before buying new items elsewhere.

Donations of anything but clothes for the store are also appreciated, and Mardi Gras beads are always accepted.

“We function just on donations,” Eidt said. “We don’t have any grants or state or local funding whatsoever. Our school operates strictly on the generosity of the community.”

Community donations have kept the non-profit agency open for 50 years.

“In order to pay the light bill, we need as much generosity as we can get,” she said.

But donations also go to more fun adventures, like the annual trip to the Gulf Coast’s beaches.

“That’s a long-awaited venture,” Eidt said. “As soon as Santa Claus leaves, they start thinking about the beach.”

The school will also have a Christmas party of their own and one lead by the Elks Lodge.

Monetary donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 1362, Natchez, MS, 39121.

Donations or aluminum cans to be recycled can be dropped off at the school’s 335 Liberty Road location.

Questions can be directed to Eidt at 601-442-2264.