Stolen hangers at local charity force volunteers to take action
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DAYTON – Charitable work can have its hangups.
That’s what the volunteers at the “Teacherage” found out recently when their clothing donation building kept coming up short of hangers.
The building, also known as the Community of Proctor Exchange or COPE, is located next to the old Proctor School.
Clothing, shoes, kitchen items and bedding are available for those in need inside the Teacherage from 2-4 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while children’s clothing is also available on the porch of the building and can be accessed 24/7.
Volunteers began noticing a shortage of hangers on the porch in October, Pam O’Mara said. Signs that had been posted reminding folks not to take the hangers didn’t fix the problem, she said, adding that more than 500 were taken over the past couple of months.
O’Mara said volunteers had a game camera installed on the porch in late November, and that still didn’t dissuade clients from taking the hangers.
As a result, the Teacherage had to purchase some hangers and also asked Walmart to donate some, which they did, O’Mara said.
However, the eight volunteers at COPE recently decided to begin putting clothing on the porch in boxes as a remedy to the missing hangers.
“We want people to understand why we’re at this step,” O’Mara said last week.
The Teacherage, which previously served as the teacher’s residence for Proctor School, was converted into a donation location in August 1983.
Cash donations and an annual garage sale are used to pay for the building’s electricity.
COPE volunteers include Maxine Learn, a former teacher at the grades 1-12 school that was built in 1906.
The school, which is located on the corner of Proctor School and Big Meadows roads, is now used as a community center.
It is managed by the Proctor Community Club, which is looking for additional volunteers. For more information, call president Dan Brander at 406-261-0779.
