PERRYSBURG — Eight-year-old Hannah Turner has received national recognition for her efforts to collect
items for the homeless.
Hannah was chosen along with nine other young people as a national winner in the 2009 Kohl’s Kids Who
Care Scholarship Program. As a winner, she will receive a $5,000-scholarship, and Kohl’s will contribute
$1,000 to a non-profit organization on her behalf.
Hannah and her family formed a non-profit organization called Hannah’s Socks in 2007, after a
Thanksgiving dinner at a shelter two years prior where she noticed a homeless man with battered shoes
and no socks. Since then, the charity — which is led by the Turner family — has continued to coordinate
collections and donations of socks and undergarments in the Toledo and Cincinnati areas.
This year alone, the organization has collected around 48,000 pairs of socks toward its 60,000-pair goal.
Doris Turner, Hannah’s mother, said her family first learned of the award when a plaque was delivered to
her family’s doorstep. She said the Beach House Family Shelter in Toledo had submitted Hannah’s name to
the contest.
“I do know that they were pretty impressed with Hannah being so young and noticing this homeless man and
wanting to take action,” she said.
Kohl’s will choose one of three organizations selected by Hannah — Hannah’s Socks, Cherry Street Mission
and Beach House Family Shelter — to make a donation.
Tammy Holder, the Beach House executive director, said there is a significant need for children’s socks
and undergarments at her organization’s shelter due to the high guest turnover. And Hannah’s Socks
seemed like a natural nominee for the award.
“We felt like (if) somebody that age is already being altruistic and already sees a need and wants to do
something about it, then we felt that that should be rewarded, and that’s why we did what we did,” she
said.
