Two Miami Valley nonprofits have struck a deal to help meet the needs of children and families at shelters in Greene and Preble counties.
Those organizations include HTC, formerly known as Hannah’s Treasure Chest, and Miami Valley Community Action Partnership.
HTC will be providing families in shelter with clothing, books, shoes, toys and other essentials through this effort.
"This year we were looking at how we partner, who we partner with, and how we can broaden and deepen our partnerships in the community to ensure that everyone who needs the community resources we provide has access to them."
HTC has been operating as a “basic needs bank” since 2001, working with a network of partners across 20 counties in Southwest Ohio to provide care packages of children’s items to those in need.
"Each year our partners onboard with us for an administrative fee but beyond that, they pay nothing for the items we distribute," said said Deanna Murphy, Executive Director of HTC. "So hundreds of thousands of dollars of things going out into the community."
Murphy said this recent expansion comes from a change in how they onboard partners which lead to five new partnerships, including MVCAP.
"This year we were looking at how we partner, who we partner with, and how we can broaden and deepen our partnerships in the community to ensure that everyone who needs the community resources we provide has access to them," she said.
MVCAP's mission
MVCAP’s mission is to eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty. Part of this effort includes operating an emergency shelter in Greene County and a domestic violence shelter in Preble County.
According to MVCAP CEO and President Erin Jeffries their shelters provided more than 9,600 shelter nights to those in need in 2024.
"So that doesn't include the domestic violence shelter because that program hadn't started yet," she said. "The Donnellan shelter has six units for families, and emergency shelters are supposed to be about 30 days. And then the Harding Place transitional housing is for up to 18 months."
Jeffries said their new partnership with HTC will allow them to better serve even more community members during some of their most difficult times.
“We want to respect the dignity of every single person that we serve and each one of our neighbors," she said. "Through this partnership with HTC, being able to provide those items that provide a little bit of normalcy in a situation that can feel very chaotic — especially for children — that's something that's really important to MVCAP.”
Going forward
Murphy said MVCAP started its onboarding process and will soon be receiving supplies through their organization.
"There's always something around the bend for us and we just want to make sure that our partners feel that they're getting the value out of our partnership with them and to ensure that every child is dignified at every moment," she said.
Jeffries said they are looking forward to working with HTC as they help local families in a time of need.
"Having this compassion and care through the gifts of HTC as they're coming into our shelter, it helps to set us up for a successful relationship with the families coming so that we can be their ally and be their partner as they achieve self-sufficiency in permanent housing," she said.
