Our Second Meeting of Year Five
Three Great Presentations and One Successful Charity!
Here’s your recap for last night’s meeting.
AND
If you still have to submit your cheque, payment instructions are at the bottom or
You can follow this link to make your payment online!
What a great way to start 2019! It may have beencold outside, but we had warm hearts and plenty of enthusiasm as we focussed on great new initiatives for the New Year. With 150 committed donations, we held our eighteenth meeting of 100 Women Who Care Guelph at Cutten Fields.
Our networking session, sponsored by our valued 100WWCG members Sandra Lastovic of The Mortgage Centre and Irene Szabo of Home Group Realty, began at 6:00 pm. It was great to hear from Sharon ‘s introductory remarks, that once donations for this evening’s successful charity have been collected, 100WWCG will have raised more than $220,000 for local charities!
Sharon also highlighted the importance of recruiting some members to assist the administration team in performing some of the tasks which are required to keep 100WWCG running like a well-oiled machine. Many hands really do make light work! The team is currently looking for people to fill these volunteer positions:
- Meeting photographer
- Press release writer
- Social media (Facebook, Twitter) representative
- Cheque chaser
- Occasional meeting MC
- Volunteer Co-ordinator
What volunteers would be committing to:
- a few hours a month or a quarter (varies depending on the task)
- one or two admin meetings a year (comes with wine and snacks!)
We are looking for people who:
- are energetic, fun, playful
- have a positive approach
- are organized and timely
- love to brain storm
- can regularly attend meetings
Interested members should contact Sharon Lewis (519) 780-0468 or Tannis Sprott (519) 763-1172 as soon as possible.
After Sharon’s short presentation, Gail Hoekstra, Executive Director of The Drop In Centre, drew the names of this quarter’s nominees from a hat, and our charity presentations began in earnest.
- Jennifer Harrison presented on behalf of Rainbow Day Camp. This program offers Guelph and the surrounding area a summer recreational day camp experience for children and youth, providing quality programs in a caring, open and inclusive environment which embraces diversity and encourages personal growth, according to each individual’s strengths, needs and abilities.. Using a “real life” story, Jennifer stressed the important impact that the Rainbow Day Camp experience has on the empathy that kids and their families have for others.
- Wendy Clayson presented on behalf of Michael House, .a pregnancy and parenting support service which provides programming and residential support to women coping with crisis pregnancy. Wendy read an inspiring note from a previous client who attested to the positive impact she had experienced at Michael House and how it had changed her life.
- Greta Najcler presented on behalf of Community of Hearts. This not-for-profit supports adults with developmental exceptionalities, to achieve success in curriculum-based quality programming, build self confidence and become more engaged in our community as they grow and learn. Program content teaches the three pillars of Self-Awareness, Self-Management & Self-Advocacy/Expression to ensure participants achieve the level of independence they desire.
There was an opportunity after each presentation for members to ask a few questions and clarify any .issues that might not have been addressed by presenters. Members enthusiastically asked for more information about the programs offered and funding models employed by each of the nominees. Once all presentations had been made and all questions were answered, members voted for this quarter’s successful charity.
Gail Hoekstra, Executive Director of The Drop In Centre says “Thank you.”
While members’ votes were being tallied, a representative from last quarter’s successful charity took the opportunity to say a wholehearted “Thank you!” to the group .
Using examples of real life situations, Gail Hoekstra spoke passionately about the impact of our October donation on The Drop In Centre. Monies donated to the centre have been dedicated to an emergency medical fund which addresses specific client needs for people without means to pay, including prescription medication, emergency medical care not covered by OHIP, or critical dental work . Members were pleased to hear about the substantial impact their donations have made to this valuable Guelph community space.
Founding members Sharon Lewis and Tannis Sprott pose with a “big cheque” for the Drop In Centre
And the succesful charity is…
Our first chosen charity of 2019 is Rainbow Day Camp. Our donation is slated to be used to assist with providing staff who will work one on one with special needs children within the Inclusion Program.