Our Third Meeting of Year Four
Three uplifting presentations and one successful charity!
If you missed the meeting, we’re happy to provide a recap…
AND
If you still have to submit your cheque, payment instructions are at the bottom.
You are now able to make payments online, as well!
Our fifteenth meeting of 100 Women Who Care Guelph once again demonstrated the commitment of our 165 members, to supporting local community organizations! In spite of an ice storm which forced the postponement of our quarterly meeting, members rearranged their schedules and came out one week after the original scheduled date, for a chance to listen to enthusiastic speakers making compelling presentations for their chosen charities.
We started off the evening with our new pre-meeting networking event sponsored by Irene Szabo of Sotheby’s Realty and Sandra Lastovic of The Mortgage Centre, valued members of 100WWCG.
Diane Nelson delivered introductory remarks to the group, thanking everyone for rearranging their schedules and gave special thanks to the Delta Hotel, for making it possible for us to re-book our meeting on short notice. She also informed members that representatives from Best Version Media (Guelph) were in the audience and would be interested in taking a photograph of our group for publication in one of their local neighbourhood magazines. In light of the fact that there were several new members present, Diane reviewed the charity selection and voting process and took this opportunity to remind members that they have the option of making their donations by cheque or online through our website.
We listened to presentations from three very passionate nominators:
- Joan Bruder presented on behalf of The Julien Project, a community-based charitable
Joan Bruder presented on behalf of “The Julien Project”
organization that provides social and therapeutic gardening opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds and abilities, enabling personal growth, community membership, and environmental well-being. Based at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre, the initiative offers a variety of horticultural programs designed to heal people holistically. Programs are offered to schools, special needs clients and people served by Hope House.
- Cathy Bulych presented on behalf of VON Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (Victorian Order of Nurses), a charitable home and community care organization which offers home care, personal support, and community services designed to help people of all ages to get healthy and stay healthy. Volunteers provide respite care, Meals on Wheels and transportation to medical and rehab programs for seniors and those dealing with long term illness.
- Stacy Cooper presented on behalf of Habitat for Humanity, an organization which mobilizes volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting home ownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty. Habitat for Humanity offers a zero down payment, interest-free mortgage, with payments which are geared to income. All partner families and individuals and individuals are required to contribute up to 500 hours of “sweat equity” by volunteering in construction, office work and fundraising.
Following each presentation, members asked a variety of very insightful questions. This is so important, because the more we know about the charities who present, the better we will understand their mission and value to the community. Your engagement with our presenters is essential to our mission and as always, our members’ continued generosity is key to 100WWCG’s success and the success of the charities we sponsor.
Steve Kraft says “Thank You!” on behalf of Guelph Public Library…
While member votes were being counted, Steve Kraft of Guelph Public Library gave a wholehearted “Thank You!” to members for our January donation, which was used to purchase Early Literacy Stations for branch libraries within the system. These stations, valued at approximately $4,000 a piece, provide a wide variety of learning experiences including reading, writing, phonics, math, science and social studies to children aged 2 to 8 years. Most important, the units provide a learning experience which is engaging and entertaining for children, fostering a love of the library experience and incredible enthusiasm for learning. The library had a goal of installing two of each of these ELS in each branch and our donation has substantially helped to achieve that goal.
Three year pin recipients were honoured and photographed. Congratulations!
Following his very entertaining presentation, Stephanie Birt of Blue Ocean Office Supplies handed out 3 year pins to qualified members and photos were taken of pin recipients and of the members in attendance at the meeting.
Once these activities disbanded, we learned that our April 2018 selected charity is VON Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (Victorian Order of Nurses). When pledges come in from all members, our contributions will be directed towards providing subsidies for seniors and disabled clients who lack adequate funding to make use of their services. We look forward to hearing about the impact of that donation at our next meeting, on July 16, 2018. You can read more about these exciting plans in Tannis’s press release online.
If you missed the meeting, you’ll find instructions about how to send in your cheque below. We are also offering the option of making your payment online!