OCCF awards over $80,000 in community grants

News-Messenger/News Herald
·3 min read
Business Advisory County representatives Clay Finken, left, and Katherine Adams accept a check for $20,000 from Ottawa County Community Foundation (OCCF) Trustee Mary Coffee and Executive Director Shea McGrew.
Business Advisory County representatives Clay Finken, left, and Katherine Adams accept a check for $20,000 from Ottawa County Community Foundation (OCCF) Trustee Mary Coffee and Executive Director Shea McGrew.

PORT CLINTON - The Ottawa County Community Foundation (OCCF) awarded $80,063 in community grants and special awards at its annual Awards Presentation. Thirty-eight local nonprofit organizations received funding in addition to the third annual presentation of the Joy Roth Little Tiger Award.

“We are pleased to partner with such diverse and deserving organizations in 2023. We congratulate and thank our grant recipients for their ongoing community efforts,” said OCCF Executive Director Shea McGrew. “Their services are crucial to this area and touch so many lives.” The grants program supports a variety of county efforts in the fields of health, safety, human services, education, the environment and the arts.

OCCF presents nearly 40 grants

The 2023 grant recipients honored on June 15 include:

Arc of Ottawa County, Summer camp for children with disabilities; Courageous Community Services, Fun in the Sun camp for children at Camp Courageous; Cancer Services, Cancer services for patients and their families; Cast It Forward, Fishing trips for veterans, kids, and seniors in need; Catawba Island Historical Society, Exterior GFI receptacles to provide power for outdoor displays; Concerned Citizens of Oak Harbor, 3 refrigerators and 2 ranges at Oakwood Manor; Cultivate the Clover of Ottawa County, Leadership training for 4-H Camp Counselors;

Engaging Opportunities Foundation, Create job training activities for adults with intellectual disabilities; Genoa Area Community Food Pantry, Purchase 6 new wagon carts for food distribution; Genoa Civic Theatre, Painting theatre as part of renovation project; Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council, FACE LIFT — interactive art sculptures at TAG (The Arts Garage); Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa County, Playhouse Build — teaching children the pride of homeownership; Harris-Elmore Public Library Circulating STEM Kits for Harris-Elmore and Genoa libraries;

Heartbeat of Ottawa County, Update technology and Quick Books; Joyful Connection, Reduce finance and transportation barriers; Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, AmeriCorps intern; Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Cente, Interactive digital displays for current wildlife exhibits; Mid-County EMT Association, Video Laryngoscopes —replace outdated patient care equipment; Musical Arts Series Port Clinton, Concerts for seniors at assisted living centers;

Oak House, Provide trips to various attractions and events; Ottawa County Agricultural Society, New pens for sheep and goats at Ottawa County Fairgrounds; Ottawa Coounty Family Advocacy Center, Inc., Upgrade meeting room and kitchen facilities; Ottawa County Holiday Bureau, Food and household items for those in need during the holidays; Ottawa County Museum, Purchase archival materials for storage, repair, etc.; Ottawa County Transitional Housing, Ruth Ann's House — new refrigerator;

Jonnie Myers-Debbink, center, and Carol Morgan, right receive the Joy Roth Little Tiger Award, presented by Jeff Roth, left.
Jonnie Myers-Debbink, center, and Carol Morgan, right receive the Joy Roth Little Tiger Award, presented by Jeff Roth, left.

Otterbein Senior Life Marblehead, Install Hearing Loop in dining room and activities room; Playmakers Civic Theatre, Theater summer school for youth; Port Clinton Firefighters Association, EMT Certification; Portage Fire District Firefighters Association, Purchase fire blankets designed for vehicle fires; Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce Tourism Bureau, Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce Tourism Promotional Video; Salvation Army, Camp NEOSA Residential Summer Camp for at-risk children;

Business Advisory Council receives $20,000 grant

Schedel Arboretum and Gardens, Summer science and art camps; Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Inc., Build and deliver beds to those in need; St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry, Food and food certificates for those in need; Team VIAC, Veteran retreats in 2023; Walk in My Shoes, Inc., Provide new shoes for children in need.

Funding for these grants was made possible by private donations and earnings from several unrestricted Community Funds and Donor Advised Funds held by OCCF.

A product of OCCF’s Special Initiatives Fund, one of the most significant 2023 awards was a $20,000 grant provided for the Business Advisory Council’s State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) certification program.

The foundation also presented its 2023 Joy Roth Little Tiger Award to The Arts Garage (TAG), of the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council (GPCAAC). Joy Roth, founder and long-time President of OCCF, died in July 2020, and the OCCF Board, with the support of Joy’s husband Jeff Roth, sought to establish this special recognition to honor her legacy. Joy, a fan of the Auburn University Tigers football team, was known by family and friends to be a “little tiger” herself.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Ottawa County Community Foundation gives grants to 38 local nonprofits