Islander sends box of 'love' to families of Texas shooting victims

After a mass shooting at a Texas church, an Islander was moved to do something to help.

Patti Arsenault said when she first heard of the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, she felt "pure helplessness" and anger at yet another mass shooting in the U.S.

Arsenault felt a particular connection to the 25 victims and their families because the deaths occurred in a small town where everyone knows each other, much like P.E.I.

The resident of Malpeque Bay decided she would send a box to the church with gifts from the Island.

Arrived on U.S. Thanksgiving

"I contacted a bunch of friends, as many as I could possibly contact and I said 'Look, I'm feeling helpless and I really want to do something, how do you feel?' And they were like absolutely, I'm right here for you," Arsenault said.

She contacted musicians, artists, writers and others who she thought could create something for those impacted by the shooting. Arsenault received a teddy bear, paintings, photos of the Island, bracelets and a poem for the box.

The box was sent to a church in the area that was helping to care for people affected by the shooting. They received the parcel on the American Thanksgiving weekend. Arsenault said she called the church to make sure they received it. She said the woman she spoke with helped open the box and and told Arsenault it contained "just the right words and the right gifts that really conveyed that meaning of care and concern and love."

'Creative integrity'

"I didn't think that love can be in a box but it absolutely can, moreso because of, I think, if you use your creative integrity in that form, it can really convey that," Arsenault said.

She couldn't have done it without the help of other Islanders, saying she was grateful for their efforts.

"I can't say enough about Islanders," Arsenault said. "They're right there when you need them and there was no hesitation."

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