Portage Resale Center presented 44 local charities and non-profit organizations around Ottawa County with a record total of $245,000 in funding on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29. (Photo by D’Arcy Patrick Egan)

BY D’ARCY PATRICK EGAN

The Portage Resale Center in Port Clinton has helped local charities and non-profit organizations to survive with its unique quality thrift store at 301 West 2nd St., sharing with them all of its wealth each year on Giving Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 44 of the recipients of the center’s largesse shared a record $245,000, pushing the center’s 11-year total of giving to more than $1 million.

The board of directors wants to do even more in 2023, said Board Member Heather Stouffer at the special breakfast.

“We’ve worked hard to providing funding to these groups and organizations on Giving Tuesday, but we know there are groups that need more assistance,” said Stouffer. “We’re not in the business of just gifting on Giving Tuesday, a once-a-year format. We can do more.

“Our mission is to help groups when they need help,” she said, by expanding its giving ways in 2023.

To help to make that happen, Portage Resale Center needs to expand its small paid staff of associate managers and cashiers, but especially its cadre of about two dozen unpaid volunteers. They make the gifting possible, said Stouffer.

The engine that keeps the Portage Resale Center purring throughout the year are the tireless volunteers who organize and operate the unique thrift center at 301 West 2nd St., Port Clinton. From left to right are: Front Row – Cheryl Ross, Sandy Pienta, Vicky Clemons, Janet Strauss, Joan Enterline and Heather Stouffer. Back Row – Diane Morgan, John Morgan, Betty Kaye, Becky Sundquist, Debbie Newman and Mary Mahoney. (Photo by D’Arcy Patrick Egan)

“The financial support the charities get from Portage Resale Center is important to the survival of many of them. They’ve come to count on it over the past 11 years, a reason why we are never going away from that mission. They’re so appreciative of our help, and don’t expect it. But they have come to rely on it.”

Without its many volunteers, Portage Resale Center wouldn’t have the manpower to be successful.

Some volunteers come to the store every day, and help out for a couple of hours. Others enjoy a long day in the store or the warehouse, and the camaraderie of their work mates. With the rigorous system of making sure the goods — ranging from women’s and men’s clothing to books, housewares, antiques and many other items — are in excellent condition is a key to their success.

Browsing the aisles on Giving Tuesday, racks filled with clean, modern clothing were on display in time for the Christmas holiday, when business is at its best. Unique items — such as a slick kayak and an antique electric train set — stopped a lot of shoppers in their tracks.

The Portage Resale Center was created by the late Bob Snyder and his wife, Linda, with help from their many friends. It has flourished for more than a decade through outstanding management and a need for quality items at an especially affordable price.

2022 Portage Resale Center Gift Recipients

• BCS Food Pantry
• Bible Methodist Church
• Cancer Services
• Champions for Children
• Danbury Food Share Program
• Danbury School
• Engaging Opportunities Foundation (Christy’s Corner)
• Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center
• Friends of the Marblehead Peninsula Library
• Genoa Area Community Food Pantry
• Genoa Area School
• Grace Lutheran Church
• Great Lakes Community Action Partnership
• Habitat for Humanity
• Ida Rupp Public Library
• Joyful Connections
• Light House Sober Living Men’s House
• Light House Sober Living Women’s House
• Oak Harbor Alliance Chapel
• Oak Harbor School
• Oakwood Manor Community Center
• Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center
• Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center – GRAND Love
• Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center – Konnections
• Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center – Youth Food Program
• Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center- TNT Mentoring
• Ottawa County Holiday Bureau
• Ottawa County Juvenile Court
• Ottawa County Transitional Housing and Ruth Ann’s House
• PC Firefighters Assoc
• Port Clinton School
• Port Clinton School – Ruth Vogt Memorial fund
• Portage Firefighters Association
• Seed Faith Food Pantry
• Shoreline Church Car Care Ministry
• Shoreline Church Food Pantry
• St. John Lutheran Church
• St. Vincent de Paul Food pantry
• Team VIAC
• The Oak House
• The Salvation Army
• United Way of Ottawa County
• Women Helping Young Mothers
• Woodmore School