Annual Event 2026
Evie Bear's BOO at the BREW
Sunday, October 4, 2026 | NOON
Outerbelt Brewing
3560 Dolson Court, Carroll, OH
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The BOO event is FREE, however we request everyone consider bringing a NEW stuffed animal to donate which will be used for our Christmas HUGS project. For each stuffed animal donated, they will receive a raffle ticket and a chance to win the BOO Basket Door Prize.
We will also introduce the new Evie Bear Christmas Ornament, “CHUCK” the Duck for the first time at the BOO. The Welcome Table will include a tree showcasing the entire Evie Bear Christmas Collection. Ornaments can be purchased and personalized during the BOO.
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MUSIC:
We have a great afternoon of music planned! Beginning at noon, the Nacho Street Band will perform and play three sets; lasting until about 3 p.m. Our second band, Dunderstruck, will begin about 3:15 and finish out the afternoon with some great classic rock.
SCAVENGER HUNT:
Each child that attends the BOO will receive a Goodie Bag when they arrive and a Scavenger Hunt. This year, the Hunt includes 10-12 activities for kids to enjoy throughout Outerbelt. The kids will get to TOUCH-A-TRUCK, take Spooky Smiles, make Creepy Crafts and Haunted Fairy Gardens, decorate their own Ornament, pick a Pumpkin from the Patch and MORE!
Once the kids finish all the activities, they can take their completed Scavenger Hunt list to the Welcome Table and choose a prize out of the treasure chest.
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Adults are encouraged to participate in the BOO Silent Auction and Raffle, and also purchase squares on the OSU v. michigan Football Pool.
The Auction includes more than 100 donated offerings including themed baskets, artwork and hand-made crafts, gift certificates for services, restaurants, and entertainment such as theatre performances, concerts and sporting events will be up for auction.
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"Evie Bear's BOO at the BREW" has been the Foundation's primary annual fundraiser since 2019. We are also proud to consider it a FREE community event. Everyone is welcome as the BOO is open to the public, and is family friendly for all ages.
Since 2023, Outerbelt Brewing has graciously hosted the BOO and we look forward to all the fun this year’s BOO will provide!
Program Areas
“The Evelyn Hazel Miller Memorial Fund” at the Columbus Zoo
Established in 2019 and fully endowed in 2021, Evelyn's Zoo fund provides annual distributions that support the Zoo’s Pre-K education program, such as sensory toys, art supplies and learning tools. Animal encounters are also funded as part of the program, sharing Evelyn’s love for the interactive features of the zoo.
A plaque commemorating Evelyn’s enjoyment of the zoo is located on a pillar at the Giraffe Feeding Shamba. A bench is also dedicated to her, located undercover and overlooking a viewing window in the Bear Exhibit. We hope that when you visit the Columbus Zoo, you will think of Evelyn while feeding the giraffes and enjoy resting on her bench when watching the bears.
To celebrate Evelyn's love of books, Evie Bear's Little Libraries began in 2020, thanks to a generous grant from the Fairfield County Foundation. Since then, more than 6,000 FREE books have been distributed and are restocked on a monthly basis.
Evie Bear's Little Libraries can be found at several locations throughout Ohio. The Canal Winchester area includes the Primrose School, Slate Ridge Estates, Slate Run Dental, and Whit's Frozen Custard. A little library is also located at the Lithopolis Cemetery and Shirkey's Pizza in Carroll. In Columbus, you can find one at 2413 Merbrook Road and 1644 Grenoble Road in Upper Arlington. There is also one in use at the Ginghamsburg UMC in Troy.
Evie Bear's Little Library Program
In gratitude for the efforts and care provided by the hospital's staff during Evelyn’s stay, the Foundation has provided outreach to the hospital’s Bereavement, Music Therapy, and/or Mental Health Program each year.
In 2025, Evelyn's Foundation was pleased to also provide two "BIG DREAMS”. In partnership with the Appenzeller Foundation, funding was provided to purchase a Professional Sound Machine. Through the Child Life Program, this machine provides a personal connection through the television in each hospital room between the children who are patients and their family members who are unable to make visits to the hospital. The sound machine will also be used by the hospital's Bereavement Program to provide families with comfort bears that include audio of their child's heartbeat.
Evelyn's Foundation also made a multi-year commitment to fund an outdoor terrace at the Mathile Mental Health Center, at Dayton Children's Hospital. This space will allow children who are being treated for mental health issues to enjoy fresh air and be outdoors during their hospitalization.
dayton Children’s Hospital
Columbus Zoo
Little Libraries
Dayton Children’s Hospital
Additional Outreach ~ Evie Bear HUGS!
Since 2018, more than 2,000 Christmas and Easter HUGS (each HUG contains a stuffed animal, reading books, coloring or activity book, and crayons or colored pencils) have been distributed to hospitalized children at Dayton Children's Hospital during the respective holidays. In 2025, Christmas HUGS were expanded to also include the Cardiac ICU and Burn Units at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Evie’s Bear HUG Program
Every year, each of the Foundation's board members choose an outreach that benefits children in ways that are personal and meaningful to them. These "HUGS" have included, but are not limited to:
Canal Winchester Local Schools — For the last four years, an education HUG has been awarded to benefit an entire grade level. The entire fifth grade at Winchester Trail received a virtual presentation from the Columbus Zoo, a planetarium light to help with the study of the solar system, owl pellets for dissection, and field trip assistance to the Lego Learning Center. Through the years, the Foundation has also provided outreach for the Garden Project at Indian Trail and supported the "Sole Sisters" Program at Winchester Trail.
Champ Camp — Supporting summer camp for children with tracheostomies and chronic respiratory challenges
Lifeline of Ohio and Life Connections of Ohio - Support of organ donation
The Joy of Muzic - Support of their Pre-K Music Program
Lancaster Festival - Sponsorship and participation at the 2025 Family Fair Day
Nacho Street Band - Support of their annual initiative each year since 2021
Nationwide Children's Hospital - Purchased a Butterfly Wagon
Ronald McDonald Houses (Dayton and Columbus)
Secret Smiles - Purchased beds and cribs for children who would otherwise not have a place to sleep
Tim Tebow Foundation - Hospital Playhouse Program
VFW Post 10523 - Highschool Scholarship Program
Windswept Academy - Purchased iPads for students and instruments for their music program.
Evie Bear's "Feed-A-Giraffe Day" - On June 28, 2018, Evelyn enjoyed an afternoon at the Columbus Zoo and fed "SAM" the giraffe for the first time. Each year to commemorate that special day, Evelyn's cousins visit the zoo, enjoy all the things that Evelyn loved, and pass out "Feed-A-Giraffe" vouchers to random people throughout the zoo so they can have the same experience as Evelyn.
Sprinkled over 2,000,000 coneflower and summer flower seeds
Provided in-kind donations to Brockstrong, Canal Winchester Relay for Life, and Champ Camp
Acted as Fiscal Agent and established the "Wreaths of Honor" Project. Each Christmas, Wreaths of Honor volunteers place Christmas wreaths on the graves of more than 600 veterans who rest in peace at the Lithopolis Cemetery