100 Women Who Care Rural Wellington celebrates five years of philanthropy

August 10, 2023 @ 10:00 amNews

Giving feels good - At the June Meeting of 100 Women Who Care Rural Wellington, the winning charity was Look Good, Feel Better. This organization has been helping people diagnosed with cancer feel like themselves again by hosting workshops that discuss how to care for your skin and hair correctly to enhance appearance, confidence, and reduce the chances of infection. The $10,600 the chapter raised will be used to host workshops in rural Wellington County, which include complimentary kits that include skin and hair care for each man, woman or teenager who participates. The chapter is celebrating its 5th anniversary at its Sept. 18th meeting at the Elora Raceway. Pictured in the photo from left are executive member Kay Ayres, Look Good, Feel Better development manager Claire Sargeant, and executive member Judy Dirksen. Submitted photo

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Since 2018, a group of about 100 women in rural Wellington have been meeting four times a year to donate a collective $10,000 to local charities. 

“It’s amazing what a group of women can do when they get together,” said executive member Helen Edwards. 

The launch of the local group was inspired by a workshop at the Seniors Centre for Excellence in Drayton on International Women’s Day in March 2018. 

The workshop was about ways women are changing the community, and a representative from Guelph’s 100 Women Who Care group made a presentation about the initiative. 

Edwards said the presentation inspired Wellington women to ask, “why can’t we do something up here?”

So they got together to start a local chapter of 100 Women Who Care. 

Once each season the group meets and every member donates $100 to a collectively chosen local organization. Members submit suggestions for which organization should receive the donation each meeting. 

Three of the charities are chosen at random, and the member who picked those charities presents a pitch as to why their suggestion is deserving of the donation. 

All members then vote for one of the three charities, and everyone donates $100 to the charity with the most votes. 

This system ensures the charity selected each season receives at least $10,000, Edwards said. 

There are currently 112 members of 100 Women Who Care Rural Wellington (100WWCRW) from Wellington North and Centre Wellington. 

The group’s meeting place changes each season, and its next meeting in September will be at the Elora Raceway.  The last meeting, in June, was in Drayton.

To date, recipients of 100WWCRW donations include the Alzheimer’s Society, Recovery Canada, hospital foundations, and Look Good Feel Better, an organization that offers complimentary workshops to cancer patients to help them feel confident and empowered. 

“None of the charities are expecting the money,” Edwards said, which empowers them to start different initiatives for which they hadn’t budgeted.

100WWCRW is always looking for new members, and Edwards said its an “amazing way to have a huge impact on our communities.

“I’m really so proud of the work that we’ve done together to help our local charities,” she added. 

For more information or to become a member visit 100wwcrw.com.  

Reporter