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100+ Women Who Care Powell River set sights on fundraising goal

Group celebrates 10th meeting with a challenge
100+ Women Who Care Powell River
STRETCH GOAL: Members of the 100+ Women Who Care Powell River organizing committee hope to reach $100,000 donated to Powell River non-profits during their 10th meeting on Wednesday, November 20. Pictured: [back row, from left] Wendy Spreeuw, Nancy Howlin, Helen Theilmann, Lori Casparie and Cindy Villani; [front, from left] Phil How (youth member), Ashley Silvestrini-Groshak (youth member), Julie Silvestrini and Tara Chernoff; (missing) Lynnda McNeil. Contributed photo

The 10th meeting of 100+ Women Who Care (WWC) Powell River will take place on Wednesday, November 20, and the organizing committee is hoping to reach $100,000 in total donations to local not-for-profit groups over the last two and a half years.

“We donated $84,850 in our first nine meetings,” said co-chair Tara Chernoff. “To reach the $100,000 mark at our 10th meeting is a stretch goal, but we think we can achieve it.”

WWC has 400 actively operating chapters worldwide. The movement began in 2006 in Jackson, Michigan, when Karen Dunigan gathered a group of women together and raised $12,800 in less than an hour for the city’s Centre for Family Health, which needed cribs for new mothers.

The Powell River chapter held its first meeting in June 2017, and donated $6,000 to Friends of Powell River at the end of the evening.

“We choose our recipient organizations by vote of members at the meeting,” said Chernoff. “Three organizations are invited to present about their needs and work, and the members then vote on which organization they think should receive the funds. The one with the most votes takes home the proceeds of the meeting: $50 from each woman in attendance, matched with an additional $50 from the Powell River Community Forest.”

Chernoff said meetings also include a short report from the previous meeting’s recipient organization on how the funds were used and the impact it made. Meetings are only an hour long and take place four times per year.

“Reaching our 10th meeting is a milestone, so we’re doing something a little special,” said Chernoff. “After the meeting, we’ll have a social that includes a cash bar, door prizes and information about all our previous recipients.”

Chernoff encourages any woman in Powell River who has an interest in community activism to join the group.

“People love being part of this because, while the money is powerful for these organizations, it really is about learning what is going on in our community,” she said. “So often, we hear people say, ‘I knew that organization existed, but I had no idea the full depth of what they actually did.’ We also have situations where some of the presenting organizations realize they are doing similar work, so that presents an opportunity for collaboration and capacity building in our non-profit sector that might not have existed if they hadn’t met each other at our group.”

Chernoff is looking forward to seeing if the group can reach its $100,000 goal, and knows the future for the organization is bright.

“This is about those women deciding to come together and make a difference,” she said. “The energy in that room is always so positive.”

For more information or to join WWC Powell River, visit go to 100womenpr.com, fill out the online form, nominate a local non-profit to be considered for support (optional), and commit to attending four meetings and providing a $50 donation at each meeting.

The upcoming meeting takes place from 7 to 9 pm on Wednesday, November 20, at Town Centre Hotel.