OCCF Trustee Mary Coffee displays some of the generous business donations received for the Open House and OCCF’s Virtual Auction Fundraiser at ottawaccf.org. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

The Little Blue House is opening its doors on Tuesday, Nov. 29 to give local residents the opportunity to visit the place where hungry bellies are filled, chilly children are clothed and artists are buoyed by support and encouragement.

The Little Blue House is home to the Ottawa County Community Foundation (OCCF), a non-profit public charity that manages more than $11 million in charitable funds that support organizations with a focus on the arts, education, health and human services, economic development and natural resources.

OCCF will host a Giving Tuesday Open House in its Little Blue House office at 306 Madison St. in conjunction with Ida Rupp Public Library from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Giving Tuesday is a worldwide movement that encourages support of charitable organizations. During the Open House, local residents can drop off clothing donations and meet the trustees that manage OCCF funds and help make Ottawa County a better place to live.

The Open House will feature caroling by “Mixatones” singers Jess Mindlin, Rich Kihlken, Jim Deer, and Jeff Steinmetz.

“We wanted to give back to the community, and we wanted to see their faces. People don’t know who we are,” said OCCF Board Member Brenda Haas. “We’ve quietly become a support system for charitable organizations in the community.”

Ida Rupp Public Library will also host special events on Nov. 29, beginning with Storytime for babies, toddlers and preschoolers at 10:30 a.m. In the afternoon, visitors can enjoy a visit from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Canine Unit, a Touch-a-Truck event with Port Clinton Fire & Rescue, drop-in snowflake crafts, and entertainment by magician Greg Carson.

Santa will visit with children beginning at 3 p.m., and the Mixatones will sing carols on the porch of the Little Blue House at 5 p.m. A schedule of events can be found at www.ottawaccf.org.

Giving Tuesday is a worldwide movement that encourages support of charitable organizations. During the Open House, local residents can drop off clothing donations and meet the trustees that manage OCCF funds and help make Ottawa County a better place to live. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

The Open House will also serve as the culmination of OCCF’s Bundle Up Clothing Drive which began a month ago. Throughout the month, OCCF has been collecting new coats, packaged underwear, socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts for local children and teens. Donations can be dropped off at area libraries and the OCCF office.

“There is a desperate need for those items,” Haas said.

Items collected at area libraries will be distributed in those communities.

“We wanted to make sure that this was something that benefitted students across the breadth of the whole county, not just in Port Clinton,” Haas said. “Every single library in Ottawa County is collecting, and every single school will be the first point of distribution.”

In addition to the Giving Tuesday Open House and Bundle Up Clothing Drive, OCCF will host the OCCF Virtual Auction Fundraiser until Wednesday, Nov. 30. Auction items include multiple dinner and overnight packages, a CIC Golf/Lunch package and a Put-in-Bay Ferry/Dining package.

Items can be viewed now using the Virtual Auction Link at www.ottawaccf.org. For more information, call OCCF at 419-635-7750.