Many hands make light work.
That’s the idea behind 100 Men Who Care, a fundraising organization originating in Halifax and now coming to Penticton and the South Okanagan.
100 Women Who Care has been raising funds for the past two years, but as Bruce Tawse puts it, it’s time for the other half to chip in.
Working through the Community Foundation office, 100 Men Who Care are looking to have their first meeting in the middle of June. Invitations will be sent out to local men, but those who are interested will be able to join online when the website launches next week.
“The concept is we only want an hour of their time and we only want it four times a year,” said Tawse.
There will be a $100 fee to join, funds that go towards advertising and signing for the group. 100 Men Who Care will meet up at a local venue in May, September, December and February to hear the three charities, picked at random from all the South Okanagan and Similkameen charitable organizations, to be put forward that month.
“They will hear the work (the charity) is doing and what they would do with the funds if they received it and at the end of a five-minute pitch from each (charity), the 100 men would vote,” said Tawse.
Members will be asked to bring a cheque for $100 to each meeting, with 80 per cent of those funds going towards the charity.
“When you calculate it, 100 men with $100 each that’s $10,000,” said Tawse.
Recognizing the time and effort put in to make a presentation, the remaining 20 per cent of funds will go towards the two other charities not selected.
“Even $1,000 can make a big difference for some small charities,” said Tawse.
Tawse moved to the Okanagan from Halifax in August, where the first chapter of 100 Men Who Care was created right as he was getting ready to move.
“I think they are now up over 300 members, so it’s a fairly significant chunk of money available to charities on a regular basis. So we’re hoping over the course of a year if we can get 100 or more men we will be able to raise $40,000 for charities,” said Tawse.
To date, there are 26 of the 100 Men chapters including: Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton.
All the donations are tax deductible through the help of the Community Foundation. Tawse, along with Justin White from Edward Jones, Aaron McRann with the Community Foundation and John Robertson, an Okanagan retiree, were key in getting the project off the ground.
The group is hoping to have sign ups on their website (http://www.cfso.net/programs/100-men-who-care/) with the first meeting being held at the Cannery Brewing Company on June 21 at 5 p.m.
For more information call Tawse at 250-422-4473 or email info@100menpenticton.com.