Adopted from China as infants, Maxine Harvey and her younger sister, Talia, were always taught the importance of giving back.
“It was instilled in us at such a young age,” said Harvey, 18, of the lessons taught by her mother.
For as long as she can remember, Harvey said her family would collect items at their annual Hanukkah party and donate them to local families in need.
So when a close family friend — a social worker who worked for the Department of Children and Families in their community of Methuen, Mass. — died in 2006, Harvey decided to help honor her by launching Debbie’s Treasure Chest, an organization that collects, stores and distributes donated items to needy families.
The organization currently has 50,000 items — toys, clothing, toiletries, books, home furnishings and all manner of holiday decorations, stored in a warehouse. Social workers and representatives from social services agencies can come and collect items that are needed by families. Harvey said 1,500 families have benefited from the items.
Now a freshman at Clark University, Harvey was awarded the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award in 2014 for her work with Debbie’s Treasure Chest.
“To me, tikkun olam means that you have an obligation to help everyone around you who needs help,” said the intended psychology major.
With her award, Harvey plans to make several improvements to the operation, such as installing racks and shelves to “make it more of a shopping experience so it doesn’t feel like charity” and purchasing a computer for the warehouse to help better manage the inventory.
“It is great that a small thing like a toy or a toothbrush can mean so much to someone,” Harvey said. “It is very gratifying to know that.”