Bob Burkman’s Prayer
Heavenly Father, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand your intent especially when tragedy touches our lives. In the last weeks, untimely deaths, news of lingering illnesses and sudden injuries have entered our lives and made us all aware of our frailties.
Nevertheless, our bonds in Optimism give us strength and resolve to give our support to our members in their time of grief and need for consolation.
We pray that You will hold those most in need in Your arms and extend Your peace and love to all of us both now and in the future.
Amen
Announcements
- Tom Novak announced that 125 new Avenue of Flags subscriptions came in after the community saw the flags go up for Memorial Day. This Thursday, June 6, 2024, there will be a flag assembly party.
- Karen Charnesky announced that the booth for the American Festival on July 4, 2024, needs more volunteers. Sign up using the Member Calendar.
- Andy Dickerson said the Fishing Derby last Saturday had 201 participants and was a great success. Thank you to all the volunteers for making kids smile!
- Val Huff asked CNO members to bring in items for the golf outing silent auction. They need gift cards and bottles of wine. You can bring your items to a lunch meeting on June 25, 2024, and July 9, 2024 or talk to Val Huff or Vida McDowell to arrange an alternative plan to give them items.
- Beth Duncan announced that there is a social event on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at LaComedia. There is a brunch buffet before the performance of the “Wizard of Oz.” Learn more and sign up using the Member Calendar.
- Sarah Umbreit announced that they need volunteers to hand out packets for the Americana 5K race on July 3, 2024 at 2 PM. They also need volunteers for the day of the race that starts at 7:30 AM on July 4, 2024. You can sign up for either or both using the Member Calendar.
- Gary Hansen announced that the Centerville Noon Optimist Youth Recognition Night will be held at 7 PM on June 11, 2024. It will be an evening dedicated to honoring students winning awards, contests or scholarships from CNO in the past Optimist year. It will be a dessert and appetizer reception followed by individual recognition for each honored student. They need an accurate count of members coming so please sign up using the Member Calendar as soon as possible.
- Steve Rau announced that the golf outing fundraiser will be on July 15, 2024. He needs at least 10 more volunteers for the day of the event. No golf experience is necessary. Sign up using the Member Calendar.
- Andy Higgins announced that the youth mental health committee has an online meeting this week at 6 PM. They meet every month usually on the first Wednesday of the month. Contact Andy Higgins if you would like to be part of the committee. This month Paula Jesty from “M.I. Understanding” will be a special guest. To learn more about M.I. Understanding, read the presentation from Carol Smerz in this CNOtes.
- Joan Cordonnier said that the Youth Appreciation event will also be a NOW event. She hopes CNO members will use the event as a chance to invite friends, family and neighbors to attend and learn how great our club is so they might join!
Hannah’s Treasure Chest, Kelly Kempton
Joan Cordonnier introduced Kelly Kempton, the Development Manager at Hannah’s Treasure Chest (HTC). Kelly is also a member of CNO.
HTC Mission
Enriching the lives of children in need.
Big Changes at HTC
The last time Kelly Kempton spoke to us she said they were going to move to a new location. The previous building was 14,000 square feet while the new one is 35,666 square feet. They tried to find a building in Centerville, but none fit what they needed. They are now just outside of Centerville on Byers Road.
There is a grand opening on Friday, June 14, 2024, with a ribbon cutting at 10 AM. Immediately following the ribbon cutting the new building will be open for tours until 2 PM.
The new facility will help HTC increase capacity as well as provide a safer work environment for volunteers and staff.
This purchase was made possible, in part, to the generosity of the Tom and Lori Hausfeld Family Foundation. To honor the legacy of Kacie Hausfeld, who passed away in 2010, the building will be named “The Kacie Hausfeld Center for Children’s Basic Needs.”
Slides
You can view the slide deck of the presentation here.
Presentation
HTC does not provide direct services to children. Their partners, like CareSource, Dayton Children’s, and the YWCA, redistribute items for HTC. HTC has the warehouse space that their partners don’t need to have in order to serve those in need.
HTC’s main program is Care Packages which provide things any child could need such as clothing, shoes, books, toys, safety equipment, toothbrushes and hygiene items.
Families can request a care package every three months, which is the useful life of a toothbrush. Kelly said that dental health affects the rest of a person’s health for their entire lives.
It works like this. Case workers submit a request, then volunteers complete personalized care packages and then caseworkers pick up and deliver items to children.
HTC cares about the individual child. Care packages have some items that are based on what the child likes, for example Paw Patrol. They want their recipients to know they are seen and have dignity. They want each care package to be special.
The need in the Dayton area is big. The poverty rate in the City of Dayton is 42% versus 21% in the State of Ohio.
Families who request packages in Centerville have been increasing each year and the number of families served is now 302 per year.
HTC is the largest diaper bank in the area.
HTC is grateful for organizations like CNO for their monetary donations. Many types of items must be purchased. The need for diapers is far greater than the donations of diapers. They also don’t get enough donated cribs to fulfill the need and they must purchase those as well.
HTC supports “Safe Sleep” for infants, so HTC no longer includes items for infants like stuffed animals. Many young babies cannot lift their heads to pull away from soft objects that can pose a suffocation risk.
Programs
- Care Packages provide essential items to children in need.
- Brighter Smiles provides age-appropriate dental kits for children ages two and older to help promote good dental health.
- Beds for Babies provides cribs, toddler beds and mattresses to families at no cost in order to promote a safer sleeping environment.
- Books for Babies provides board books to children in their first year to promote early literacy. It’s never too early to read to a baby.
- Handmade for Hannah’s welcomes local sewing groups and others with sewing experience to make baby items and sensory products for children.
Impact of HTC in 2023
The value of goods given away was over $2 million in 2023.
- 7051 Children Served
- 307,025 Diapers distributed
- 1073 Strollers and Car Seats
- 5783 Coats
- 4854 Games and Puzzles
- 3986 Dental Kits
- 19,537 Pairs of Underwear
- 10,249 Pairs of Shoes
- 39,575 pairs of socks
- $706,515 worth of used clothing
By the Numbers for 2023
- $232 is the average value of care package for each child
- $12.54 is the average Amount HTC spends per care package
- $276,013 was the total donated funds
- $177,640 was the total grants awarded
- $1,378,659 was the total value of used goods distributed
Volunteers
HTC only has seven paid staff members and only one of them is full time.
In 2023, volunteers recorded 26,429 hours of work that has an estimated value of $840,434.25.
Volunteers are not scheduled. They come and work when they want. If you want to work one hour a month they will gladly accept you. Many volunteers were previously Centerville Teachers. The person in charge of books is a previous librarian at the Washington-Centerville Public library.
There are all kinds of opportunities to volunteer. Children often volunteer. Kids might sort puzzles or clean toys, for example.
HTC is very laid back with their volunteers. No one is going to call you and ask why you didn’t show up to work. If you want to take a vacation, no problem, go on it and when you are ready, come back and volunteer when you want.
Giving Angels Program
Giving Angels is HTC’s holiday gift program. In 2023, Giving Angels provided 373 families with 1,100 children with holiday care package. Packages in total included nearly $22,000 in grocery gift cards for holiday meals. There were 4,773 gifts valued over $135,000.
Shop Hannah’s
Shop Hannah’s is a 100% volunteer-run thrift shop. Operating by selling surplus donations, the proceeds are used to purchase items such as cribs, mattresses, diapers, underwear, and more. Many families fall through the cracks and need help even though they don’t have a case worker and don’t qualify to receive goods for free from places like HTC.
In 2023, Shop Hannah’s generated $51,024.04 in revenue for HTC programs.
How You Can Help
- Donate money. Just $75 fully funds programming to serve a child in need.
- Donate items
- Volunteer for one or more of the numerous jobs at the HTC facility
- Host a clothing, toy or book drive
- There are many more ideas and details at https://www.hannahstreasure.org/volunteer/
Demographics of Those Served
- 47% Black
- 31% Caucasian
- 10% Biracial
- 9% Hispanic/Latinx
- 3% Other
- 51% Boys and 49% Girls
- 86% are under 10 years old, 14% are aged 10-18
Ohio Counties Served
HTC served 20 counties in 2021. Here are the percentage of where care packages were sent:
- 76%, Montgomery County
- 10%, Warren County
- 7%, Greene County
- 2.5%, Butler County
- 1%, Clark County
- 1%, Preble County
- 0.3%, Hamilton County
- 2%, Other Counties
Thank You
Thank you, Kelly Kempton, for educating us about Hannah’s Treasure Chest.
Previous Article about Hannah’s Treasure Chest
Kelly Kempton last spoke to CNO on May 10, 2022. You can read the CNOtes for that day here.
Volunteer Signups Available Online with the Virtual Clipboard
Did you know that you can now sign up to volunteer or to take part in social events using a simple online registration form right from your phone or PC? The Member Calendar has a complete list of upcoming volunteer opportunities and social events.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Hunter Busch | Jeff Busch |
| Jake Price | Gary Anderson |
| Lida Best | Jackie Powell |
| Max Anderson | Gary Anderson |
| Michelle Collier | Julie Noeth |
| Rick Fritz | Gary Anderson |
| Scott Anderson | Gary Anderson |
| Teresa Eubank | DebbyMoore |
| Tony Danial | Bob Glavin |
| Terry Nicholas | Brian Nicholas |
| Ben Marks | Kristen Marks |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Thomas Wagner | Andy Higgins | 1st Reading |
| Marilyn Nagle | Sally Martino | 2nd Reading |
| Virginia Tangeman | Sally Martino | 2nd Reading |
| Doug Orf | Tom Novak | Induction |
Happy Bucks
No time for Happy Bucks this week
Sergeants at Arms
No time for Sergeants this week
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Scott Hertenstein | June 4, 2023 | 1 |
| Sonja Hertenstein | June 4, 2023 | 1 |
Birthdays
| Larry Larrimer | June 4 |
| Mike Cordonnier | June 4 |
| Diane Flick | June 4 |
| Dick Stevens | June 5 |
| Cindy Harris | June 5 |
| Jean Pummill | June 6 |
| Kristin Passidomo | June 6 |
| Bob Vogt | June 7 |
| Melanie Asbell | June 7 |
| Brooks Compton | June 9 |
CNO Donations – Since 2013
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received
CLICK HERE to see the Thank You Notes received this week