Centerville-based Hannah’s Treasure Chest has been making a difference in the lives of many young families in the Dayton area for the past 22 years. Beginning as just an idea to have more children’s items on hand for those in need, Hannah’s has grown to partner with 76 organizations throughout Southwest Ohio to help deliver nearly 400,000 items in care packages to underprivileged families in 2022 alone.
Working with their partners, the team at Hannah’s accepts donations from the community and creates care packages that meet specific needs. Volunteers hand-select items from the warehouse filled with community donations. When a care package is complete, the partner is notified and they deliver the items directly to the family.
“Our volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that the care packages going out our doors not only fill the need but also help the children receiving them feel loved by choosing items that correlate to the child’s specific taste. Whether it’s a stuffed animal, blanket, toy or book, our volunteers take special care in creating care packages that a child will love,” expresses Sherri Nutter, marketing manager for Hannah’s Treasure Chest.
Alongside their daily care packages, Hannah’s runs programs that provide cribs/toddler beds, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and board books for babies. The Handmade for Hannah’s program welcomes the talents of community volunteers who like to sew to make baby items using donated baby-friendly flannel, terry cloth, microfleece and ribbon.
The Giving Angels program is a special program occurring during the holidays to help make the season a little brighter for disadvantaged families. Beginning in August, Hannah’s partner organizations begin gathering family wishes. They ask for two needs and two wants from each child, a family gift idea and gift card recommendations for a holiday meal.
Hannah’s then matches these wishes with individual and corporate sponsors who shop for specific wishes throughout November and deliver the items to them the week after Thanksgiving. Hannah’s volunteers work diligently for the next three weeks sorting through the piles of gifts and organizing them for their partners to pick up and deliver to families in mid-December.
“We only have a staff of eight people, seven of whom are part-time, so we rely heavily on the efforts of our 100+ volunteers to process donations, personalize care packages and maintain the organization of our vast warehouse. In 2022 our volunteers recorded more than 25,000 hours of service, and the success of our operation is due to their hard work, compassion and dedication,” relates Sherri.
It is all worth it in the end. “This is our chance to bring happiness to families who might not otherwise have a chance at a good Christmas,” shares dedicated volunteer Sue Hill.
That is exactly what you can hear expressed by those families who were able to participate in the Giving Angels program. "It was more than Christmas gifts,” shares one family served in 2022. “I was able to stay on the path that I'm on. I think that sometimes there's a thin line between people going this way and that way. I could have very easily taken another road out of desperation."
How to Support Hannah’s Treasure Chest
Giving Angels
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Donate gift cards in $50 increments for Kroger, Walmart, Aldi and Meijer to provide a family with a holiday meal. Additionally, they are always in short supply of Black and Brown baby dolls, sports balls, socks and new children’s underwear, diapers of all sizes, bed linens, cleaning and hygiene supplies and shoes. For more information on how to help with the Giving Angels program, please contact Michelle (givingangels@hannahstreasure.org).
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Hannah’s likes to support their wonderful volunteers with meals as they prepare packages for children during Giving Angels season. To sponsor a meal for their volunteers, please contact Kelly Kempton (kelly.kempton@hannahstreasure.org).
Year Round
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A great way to support Hannah’s Treasure Chest is to stop by their Centerville location and purchase something at their retail shop - Shop Hannah’s. Shop Hannah’s is open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the second Saturday of every month.
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Hannah’s Treasure Chest accepts donations of new and gently used children’s items year-round. Donated items can be dropped off in the blue bins at the front of their building in Centerville. Please follow Hannah’s on Facebook for more info on their current wishlist and most needed items.
For more information on Hannah’s Treasure Chest visit HannahsTreasure.org.
“Our volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that the care packages going out our doors not only fill the need but also help the children receiving them feel loved by choosing items that correlate to the child’s specific taste.”