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08/14/2019 08:14 AMIt’s kind of like the famous quote from the Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” The 71 women who are part of the local, Lower Connecticut River Valley chapter of 100+ Women Who Care, do care a whole awful lot and are making a whole awful lot of positive impacts for local non-profits.
The group was started in 2016 by facilitator and Lark Boutique owner Suzie Woodward. Woodward started this chapter with just 30 visitors at the first meeting. To date, the group is 71 strong, has met a total of 12 quarters and has successfully donated more than $78,000 for non-profits.
All 100+ Women Who Care groups throughout the U.S. and abroad meet four times a year. Members are asked to commit to making a $100 donation at each of the meetings. These funds are then donated to a charity the entire membership has agreed upon. Each member gets to put the name of a charity they are passionate about in a hat and four are drawn out. Three will be presented as candidates for charitable donation at the next quarterly session and one is an alternate.
Woodward vets each non-profit to make sure they are eligible and legitimate and pre-qualifies them for the donations.
The person who submitted the name of the charity commits to making a five-minute, timed presentation at the next meeting. Following the presentation there is a five-minute question and answer session, then the members vote on which charity will be the beneficiary of the donations for that quarter.
“There are no casseroles involved, no one is allowed to go on and on. It’s one hour, with a half hour prior to meeting, when member can come and socialize if they choose,” said Woodward.
“It’s kind of amazing that we have been able to put 100 percent of $78,000 in the pockets of local non-profits. Not a dime is left behind,” said Woodward.
Citing the ripple effect of the group’s good will as one of the most rewarding parts of doing all this, Woodward explained that in several instances the funds raised by the 100+ Women has been matched by other groups, which has led to the chosen nonprofits’ receiving even more funding.
“It’ all about the ripple effect,” said Woodward. “Even within our own organization, sometimes what has happened is that the members will write a check for the non-profit that we have collectively voted on and then they will write another check to one of the other non-profits that was presented, but didn’t win the collective vote. It’s really wonderful.”
She added, “The glory of this is that it’s simple, and it’s kind of elegant in its simplicity.”
The charities selected to receive the donations must commit to not soliciting any of the members of group.
“I think this is important because it makes the members feel safe. They know they are not going to be put on a list and get several solicitations because they wrote one check to a non-profit,” explained Woodward.
Some non-profits that have been beneficiaries of the Connecticut River Valley Chapter of 100+ Women Who Care include Ray of Light in East Haddam, an animal rescue that also provides assisted therapy for veterans; Huntington’s Disease Society of America in Colchester, which works to improve the lives of people and families suffering with Huntington’s disease; Hinka’s Cupboard in Middletown, which provides food for the hungry; The Cove Center for Grieving Children in Meriden, which provides hope and healing for grieving children and teens; and A Little Compassion in Deep River, which provides social and employment opportunities for young adults with special needs.
At its August meeting, the group chose to donate $7,100 to the Music Now Foundation in Old Lyme, which is dedicated to the support of live music to engage, enrich, and educate youth through workshops, programing, performance opportunities, and musical mentorships.
“We are all very proud of what we have collectively been able to accomplish and we want to do more,” said Woodward.
The group is always looking for new members. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. at the Town Tavern in East Haddam, where all their meetings are held. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page at 100+Women Who Care-Lower CT River Valley.