“It is May ! It is May! The lusty month of May! When everyone goes blissfully berserk!”

So let’s have a party high on beautiful bluffs of the mighty Mississippi and watch the sun set!

Yes, we are all invited to “Party with a Purpose” Saturday at the spectacularly renovated Kings Daughter Home, residence of Renee and Kenny Cavin, at 23 Cemetery Road from 6 to 8 p.m.

Proceeds from this community fundraiser will be donated to the Guardian Shelter For Battered Families, a project of Catholic Charities.

The evening will be full of fun, with good music, good wine and good food prepared by nationally famous chef Esther Carpenter, and with a grand prize draw-down of $5,000. The goal is to raise funds to continue the successful efforts of providing a safe shelter facility and established services for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.

Tickets for this delightful “Party with a Purpose” are $100 and will admit two for an evening of cocktails and entertainment. Tickets will be entered into the nightly drawing for the $5,000 and no one has to be present to win.

Individuals can pool their money and purchase a ticket, designate two individuals to attend and split their winnings! Remember, it is for a great cause and will be lots of fun. Until you have seen the sun setting over the river from this house you have not tasted that little slice of heaven!

Our shelter here in Natchez serves victims of abuse from the 11 county area of southwest Mississippi and Concordia Parish. In the last 16 years, 5,200 individuals have been served. It has been a model award-winning program since its inception in 1994.

Domestic violence is so often hidden in families and cycles through generations, maintained by silence and denial. The negative ripple affect on future families can only be stopped by help to enable women and sometimes men to stand with courage and up break their illusions and get help.

Acceptance of abuse is a consequence of false historical dominance of women, even sanctioned by churches and government. In 1815 the Mississippi legislature passed a law that said it was legal for a man to beat his wife as long as the stick was no thicker than his thumb! In Medieval times Christian churches sanctioned the flogging of women to keep women subordinate and maintain appropriate moral order at home!

Some of these thoughts have lingered behind closed doors and some men continue to speak privately of “it’s a man’s world.” When women stand up and resist, the situation can become deadly. The most dangerous time in the cycle of violence is the point where a women truly tries to break away. The violence almost always escalates. This is why a safe shelter is so critical.

Please come and help us continue to keep these doors open. By buying a ticket you will be reaching out to defend these women and their children.

For additional information about this event, to purchase a ticket, or inquire about the services provided by the Guardian Shelter, please contact Donna Miller, program director at 601-442-0142 or e-mail donna.miller@catholiccharitiesjackson.org.

Mary Jane Gaudet is a supporter of the Guardian Shelter.