In just five years, the local non-profit 100 Women Who Care South Okanagan has garnered over 200 members.
“The 100 Women Who Care started in April 2014 where we gathered a group of women to talk about the idea of meeting quarterly to learn about the organizations in our community and the amazing work they are doing and how we can support them,” said Sarah Trudeau, who is a founding member and the group’s co-ordinator, in a press release.
READ MORE: 100 Men Who Care starts the year off strong
“We gained enough interest to host our first giving event in June of the same year where there were 35 women who showed up and we donated just over $2,000 to two local organizations.”
Since then, the non-profit has donated over $85,000 to 40 local organizations in the community.
“The women love the concept because once they pay the one-time commitment fee of $100, then it’s $200 per year ($50 per quarter) and they know 100 per cent of their donations are going to the charity,” Trudeau said in the release.
READ MORE: Three charities receive generous donation from 100 Men Who Care
Members nominate their charity and then three names are drawn. Those charities present to the group and members vote on how to split the money. The two runner-up charities each receive $500 for coming and the charity with the most votes gets the rest of the donations.
“There have been many times where there is not a dry eye in the room from the stories the charities have shared—even the chef who was catering one of our events was crying,” she said.
“Many women have come up to me after and told me they made separate donations to the groups they have heard from because they felt so passionate about their cause.”
READ MORE: Grants help communities prepare for wildfire
In five years, the organization has raised money for the South Okanagan Women in Need Society (SOWINS), Discovery House, Starfish Backpack Program, OneSky Community Resources Society and South Okanagan Children’s Charity.
The 100 Women meet four times a year in April, June, September and November. The next event is June 19 at Bench 1775 from 5 to 7 p.m.
For more information about 100 Women Who Care, see the website.
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
<>