Press Release June 2023 (Community of Hearts)

Community of Hearts Selected by 100 Women + 100 Men at Joint Meeting

At the special event joint meeting held between 100 Women Who Care Guelph and 100+ Men Who Give a Damn, Community of Hearts Lifelong Learning Centre was chosen to be the recipient of their combined donation, estimated to be near $25,000.

Community of Hearts, located downtown in the Quebec Street Mall, serves Guelph citizens aged 16 and older who are living with developmental disabilities. Through their Learning Day Programs, their goal is to support youth, adults, and seniors with developmental exceptionalities to achieve the level of independence they desire.

These programs cover a wide range of subjects, including nutritious and safe meal preparation, household chores, arts and creative expression, and health and fitness. These unique and innovative programs help to reduce social isolation, while giving the participants the necessary skills to become empowered, contributing members of society.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of an accessible washroom, these opportunites are not available to all Guelph residents who would benefit from these programs.

With the aid of a local contractor who has agreed to build the washroom at cost – yet another local hero in our caring and generous city – the donation from the members of 100WWCG and 100MWGAD will go a long way to seeing that project become a reality.

Together, these two grassroots fundraising organizations have raised over $675,000, with 55 Guelph charities having benefited over the past nine years. As stated by Mike Brookbank, 100+MWGAD Founding Member, “The breadth and scope of our local charities here in Guelph and Wellington County reach into many corners of our wonderful community, helping and providing a bedrock of support to our friends, colleagues and neighbours. We are grateful for their dedication and happy to be part of the cycle of care. We hope our collective $100 cheques help move the needle for those that need it.”

Visit www.100womenwhocareguelph.com and www.100menguelph.com for more information or to become a member and help support those in need in our community.

Our June 2023 Joint Meeting Was a Blast!

Photo Arthur Chauvineau on Unsplash

Oh What a Night!

100 Women Who Care and 100+ Men Who Give a Damn
Made a Connection To Take Giving to the Max

Great company and worthy causes made for a memorable event at our first ever joint meeting…

On June 6th, 2023, 100 Women Who Care Guelph and 100+ Men Who Give a Damn joined forces to make a big difference within the Guelph charity community, with a combined meeting. The outcome of this meeting will direct a donation from members of both groups to a single charity.

This event also served as an opportunity for both groups to celebrate their achievements, to encourage new membership and to connect with like-minded people who believe that giving back to your community is the most important thing.

What a wonderful night it was.

So, what happened at the meeting?

Sharon Lewis and Mike Brookbank provided opening remarks. Mike delivered a land acknowledgement and recognized the valuable contributions of sponsors, particularly Cutten Fields, for their generous donation of the meeting space at no cost.

Sharon gave a whole-hearted shoutout to Sandra Lastovic, of Skip the Bank, who has been a longstanding sponsor of 100 Women Who Care Guelph. She also thanked members for their continued support over the years (70 members have been with our group for at least 5+ years and 37 have been with us for 3+ years). Exciting news – 100WWCG recruited 4 new members at this very meeting!

Mike delivered regrets from Mayor Cam Guthrie, who had hoped to be our keynote speaker. He relayed Mayor Guthrie’s sincere appreciation of the incredible contribution that both 100 Women Who Care Guelph and 100+ Men Who Give a Damn have made to the Guelph charity community. He stressed that we are always stronger when we all work together and that our joint meeting is a perfect example of that cooperation for the better good.

We listened to Michelle Peek, Co-founder and Executive Director of Art Not Shame, who thanked 100 Women Who Care Guelph for our April donation. (To see the heartfelt thank you from Art Not Shame, follow this link.)

Tracey Schlosser, Market & Fund Development Lead and Joan Knox, Kitchen Co-ordinator of Hospice Wellington also thanked 100+ Men Who Give a Damn for their most recent donation.

Following opening remarks, chosen charities were announced. Members listened to enthusiastic presentations from the representatives and Executive Directors of our chosen charities, and cast their votes…

Chosen Charities

At the beginning of May 2023, members of the executives of 100 Women Who Care Guelph and 100+ Men Who Give a Damn selected the names of four charities (two for each group) which qualified to make a presentation to our June meeting.

The four chosen charities were:

Michelle Martin presented on behalf of Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington.

The mission of this organization is to alleviate the personal and social consequences of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and to promote research, to be a sustainable and responsive leader in the field of dementia offering specialized services to all persons along the dementia journey.

Funds from a joint 100WWCG / 100+MWGAD donation would be directed toward Minds in Motion, a community-based social program that incorporates physical and mental stimulation for people with early to mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia and their care partners.

Kristin Beaver presented on behalf of Central Ontario Leadership Seminars (COLS) requesting a donation to support COLS.

Every year, Central Ontario Leadership Seminars provides a three-day leadership conference to grade 10 students across Central Ontario, at no cost to the students. The aim of this conference is to empower young people to “be the change they want to see,” to foster personal growth by promoting positive thinking, goal setting and community involvement, to develop independent and critical thinking skills and to build lifelong relationships.

Funds from a joint 100WWCG / 100+MWGAD donation would be directed toward subsidizing operating costs for the 2024 conference, including insurance, room and board for approximately 120 students.

Kyle Hare, Development Outreach Co-ordinator presented on behalf of Community of Hearts Lifelong Learning Centre.

Community of Hearts supports youth, adults and seniors with developmental exceptionalities to achieve the level of independence they desire, curriculum-based quality programming and a person centred focus. This support builds self confidence, self advocacy and independence, reducing social isolation and increasing community engagement.

Funds from a joint 100WWCG / 100+MWGAD donation would be directed toward construction of the organizations first-ever accessible washroom for their facility.

Ann Caine, President of the Board, presented on behalf of Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre.

As an accredited member of the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA) and The Ontario Camps Association (OCA), Sunrise has a mission to develop the full potential of children and adults with special needs through therapy, education, horse riding, recreation, and life skills programs, farm-related and social activities.

Funds from a joint 100WWCG / 100+MWGAD donation would be directed toward subsidizing Sunrise as it provides lifeskills programming to 300 to 400 clients, including camps and a leadership in training program.

Effort and engagement yield results!

So, nothing that’s successful happens without the hard work and participation of the people involved.

We are so happy to thank the executive and members of 100 Women Who Care Guelph and 100+ Men Who Give a Damn, for their enthusiasm and engagement over the past few months. Without their efforts and co-operation we couldn’t have achieved this success.

More than 200 people turned out for our joint meeting and our successful charity will have the opportunity to receive a donation which could make an incredible difference in the outcomes it will see in 2023.

It is great to see that there is no shortage of enthusiasm in the membership of either of our groups to support local charities. Let’s move forward with increased enthusiasm and confidence that we can make a HUGE difference to those who need our support the most.

We’ll let you know what the date is for our next 100WWCG meeting, as soon as we have firmed up our plans for the next year!

Sharon, Tannis, Miriam, Lisa, Peggy and Dianne

The 100 Women Team

Art Not Shame says “Thank you!” for our April Donation

Thank you so much for your time and for being part of these incredible groups. I know that collectively, you are each making a big difference in our communities and I hope you know how much your donations mean to small, local organizations like ours.

A few months ago, I spoke to the 100 Men and 100 Women to tell you about our organization, Art Not Shame.

We were absolutely thrilled to be selected as a charity for both groups, AND selected as a finalist with 100 Women in April. As a small, grass roots local organization, every single dollar goes directly toward our mission and we are in a very exciting stage of growth this year.

Located in downtown Guelph, we are a community-engaged, multidisciplinary arts organization serving youth and adults in Guelph and across Ontario. Art Not Shame was founded in 2017 from the belief that we all belong, we all deserve and need community, and we all have something unique and creative within us.

The organization was created to address the lack of informal and welcoming spaces and sense of belonging in a community that play a vital role in our sense of ourselves, the health of our communities, and our collective mental health and well-being.

It was inspired, in part by the memory of my brother James, who died by suicide 23 years ago. On the surface, James had everything. When he died, it was a shock to our family, his friends, and the wider community, and it devastated us all.

We ran a golf tournament in his memory for 17 years. And that golf tournament created a beautiful and supportive community that offered the permission to be vulnerable, and perhaps most significantly, the space to show up in our grief and humanness without apology.

When the golf tournament ended, I took what I knew about mental health, the arts (I am a self-taught photographer), community work, belonging (I have a PhD on love and belonging, but the real learning was in the living), and launched our first workshops series in 2017.

I wanted to create spaces and programs that welcomed people as they are, in their whole humanness, without need for apology, in the hopes that it would make the world a more inhabitable place for those who suffer like my brother James did.

From that first program in 2017, we’ve reached over 5,650 people (from Guelph and virtually to participants across Ontario), collaborated with 40 community organizations, employed 38 artists, and grown our team from 1 full-time position to 4 full-time equivalents (all through individual donations and one-time grants). Our revenue has grown year over year since we began.

We’ve seen a 557% increase in our reach annually since March 2020. And most importantly, we typically see between 75 and 90% increases in well-being measures as a result of participating in our programming.

This year, together with many partners and friends, like you, we are thrilled to be in the process of transforming a vacant street-level storefront at 119 Wyndham St Guelph into 2,602 square feet of permanent, fully accessible space for Art Not Shame programming and other community organizations and arts practitioners working in the service of well-being who have been priced out of downtown.

The donation from 100 Women Who Care is vital to making this happen. Your gift will go directly towards making this space and our programs truly accessible and welcome with the purchase of 8 flip top tables around which people will gather and create, and 4 height adjustable tables and workstations to meet the diverse needs of the people who will use this space.

We can’t wait to welcome you to our new space once it’s ready. Our renovations have begun and we have a tentative opening date this fall.

I will share additional updates as our new space emerges and our expanded programming begins. You can follow along on our website as well, or stop by and peek in our windows at 119 Wyndham St N.

Thank you so much for your time and your heart. With deep gratitude from the entire Art Not Shame team, we thank you.

100 Women Who Care Guelph and 100+ Men Who Give A Damn Special Event

Combined Quarterly Meeting

Celebrating the Past While Committing to the Future

100 Women Who Care Guelph https://100womenwhocareguelph.com and 100+ Men Who Give A Damn https://www.100menguelph.com are holding a special event on June 6th, 2023, from 7:00 – 8:00 pm at Cutten Fields. For the first time ever the two fundraising organizations are joining forces to address the ongoing needs our local charities face.

By combining the two groups, members will have the opportunity to choose one local charity to receive a potential $30,000 donation.

Since the women formed their group in 2014, followed by the men in 2018, these two grassroots organizations together have donated over $675,000 to our community, with 55 Guelph charities having benefited over the past nine years.

“This is an opportunity to showcase the incredible contribution these two organizations have made to Guelph charities since inception, while at the same time recognizing the need to continue that work, and to demonstrate the fun and fellowship our quarterly meetings offer to our members.” Tannis Sprott, 100WWCG Founding Member

“Conceived of as a way to allow busy Guelph citizens to directly contribute to local charities in a fun and time efficient manner, the “100 Who Care” movement requires only four hours and four $100 tax deductible donations from its members annually. This event is a fun way to engage more caring Guelph citizens. Please consider joining us to amplify the great work our local charities are doing.” Sharon Lewis, 100WWCG Founding Member

“The breadth and scope of our local charities here in Guelph and Wellington County reach into many corners of our wonderful community helping and providing a bedrock of support to our friends, colleagues and neighbours. We are grateful for their dedication and happy to be part of the cycle of care. We hope our collective $100 cheques help move the needle for those that need it.” Mike Brookbank, 100+ Men Who Give a Damn Founding Member

After a brief introduction from Mayor Cam Guthrie, who is also a 100+MWGAD member, the evening will consist of presentations from four charities as they introduce their cause and the financial needs they must manage in order to fulfill their mandates. Then a member vote will determine which of the charities will take home the combined donation.

This event is open to all members, their guests, and the local press.

For more information on how to become a member and join in this fun and rewarding evening, email: [email protected] or [email protected].

April 2023 – Our Final Hybrid Meeting and an Exciting New Partnership!

On April 4th, 2023, 100 Women Who Care Guelph connected for our final hybrid meeting.

We are moving forward and excited by new prospects to share our enthusiasm about supporting local charities…

Great news! Now in our 9th year,100WWCG has donated $416,754 to local charities. This is a phenomenal success story.

What has made the difference is the unwavering support of our membership. Working together, we have remained steadfast in our mission to contribute to our community through our support of local charities.

100 Women Who Care Guelph is successful because of our awesome members. Your enthusiasm is the wind beneath our wings.

Thank you.

So, what happened at the meeting?

Our charity presenters were announced. Members listened to enthusiastic presentations from our nominators and followed up by voting, both in person and remotely.

While ballots were counted, we listened to Terrie Jarvis, Program Director of Food4Kids, who thanked 100 Women Who Care Guelph for our January donation.

Our Chosen Charities

On Sunday, March 26th, Tannis selected the names of three charities which had been included in our nomination draw. This allowed our nominators an opportunity to prepare presentations in advance of our in person meeting.

Our three chosen charities were:

Home for Good (United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin)
(Nominated by Margaret Middleton)

Margaret Middleton presented on behalf of Home for Good. The current focus of this campaign is to raise the capital investment required to complete three projects that will contribute 72 supportive housing units in Guelph over the next year; Kindle, Stepping Stone and Wyndham House.

This initiative would provide people experiencing chronic homelessness with consistent social and emotional supports.A 100WWCG donation would be used to close a $5 million dollar funding gap which is impeding completion of these projects.

I gnatius Jesuit Centre
(Nominated by Maya Wariyar)Maya Wariyar was presented on behalf of Ignatius Jesuit Centre. In the last 20 years, Ignatius Farm has evolved to become a model for organic agriculture and a mentor to organic growers. The Farm invites the surrounding community to enjoy and participate in their agricultural initiative and emphasizes the value of sustainable farming through community shared agriculture, farm training and acreage rentals. Their aim is building connection, stress reduction and education, through the farming experience.

Funds from a 100WWCG donation would be directed towards assisting the farm to continue its valuable operations in the face of rising costs for supplies and seed.

A rt Not Shame
(Nominated by Nancy Mossip)Nancy Mossip was unable to attend the meeting, due to illness, but Robin Smart stepped up and presented on behalf of Art Not Shame

.Art Not Shame is a community-engaged, multidisciplinary arts organization serving youth and adults in Guelph and across Ontario whose vision is a world where belonging is unconditional, creative practice is accessible, and both are recognized as fundamental to well-being, community-building, and possibilities for a just future. This organization is working towards creating a permanent, fully accessible, community art facility.

Funds from a 100WWCG donation would be directed towards the purchase of flip top tables and height adjustable tables – a necessity when working with clients where accessibility is a core issue.

Important Announcement!

Art Not Shame

(Nominated by Nancy Mossip)

Is the Recipient of our April 2023 Donation!

Our donation will assist with the purchase of flip top tables and height adjustable tables – to improve accessibility for all clients. For more information, follow this link to our most recent press release.

How do we plan to move forward?

We’ve managed to prevail in spite the craziness of the past three years, but where do we go from here? We have stayed connected and engaged – in person or by Zoom, in spite of the challenges we have faced.

Our April meeting had its best turnout since we resumed our regular meeting format in 2022. To that end, we are committed to moving forward with in person meetings and we’re currently selecting our dates for 2024. As soon as we have them firmed up, we’ll let you know, so that you can put them in your calendar.

It is great to see that there is no shortage of enthusiasm in our membership to find new charities to support. We’re on a mission to make 2023 our most successful year of giving yet and we are excited to build connections with like-minded charity partners within our community.

We look forward to seeing you at our special joint meeting with the Guelph chapter of 100 Men Who Give a Damn, at 7:00 pm on June 6th, 2023, at Cutten Fields.

More information will be coming in early May! Stay tuned…

Sharon, Tannis, Miriam, Lisa, Peggy and Dianne

The 100 Women Team

Press Release April 2023 (Art Not Shame)

100 Women Who Care Guelph Supports Art Not Shame

100 Women Who Care Guelph has chosen Art Not Shame as the latest recipient of their $10,000+ donation, contributing to the transformation of a vacant storefront at 119 Wyndham St. into 2,602 square feet of fully accessible space in which to offer their arts-based programs.

Shame is an emotion felt by all, but it can be particularly accute for those who struggle with complex challenges ranging from mental health to physical/mobility issues. Overwhelmingly, the message they receive is one of negativity – no, don’t, can’t, not good enough – on a daily basis.

Art Not Shame’s reasoning behind using art to create a sense of community and caring stems from the belief that there is no right or wrong way to do art. For once in their lives, participants are allowed and encouraged to be themselves, to tell their own story, and to let their creativity loose in a completely safe, inviting, and supportive environment.

Art Not Shame has served 5650 people since their inception in 2017. With the advent of COVID in March of 2020, they have seen a 557% increase in demand for programming as people seek out ways to fulfill the need for connection and community. Most importantly, 75%-90% of participants report an increase to their well-being.

As they continue to work toward their fundraising goals, this generous donation from 100WWCG will enable them to purchase vital flip top tables for their new workshop space, and height adjustable tables for accessible work and creation spaces.

100WWCG is delighted to contribute to the gift of turning no into yes, don’t into do, can’t into can, not good enough into well done. Their support will assist Art Not Shame in using the arts to build community and create the conditions for inner and outer change.

Visit www.100womenwhocareguelph.com for more information or to join 100WWCG and help support those in need in our community.

Food4Kids says a wholehearted “Thank You!” for our January 2023 donation…

Terrie Jarvis, Program Director of Food4Kids Guelph expressed her organization’s sincere thanks for our January 2023 donation. Here’s what she had to say…

It’s hard to know where to start in thanking all of you, my colleagues at 100 Women Who Care Guelph, for your generosity in supporting FOOD4KIDS GUELPH with your donations in the past quarter.

Tannis Sprott and Sharon Lewis make a 100WWCG cheque presentation to Terrie Jarvis, Program Director of Food4Kids Guelph.

100 Women Who Care Guelph

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Notes from Terrie Jarvis – Food4Kids Guelph Appreciation

Just to recap the role of this charity, now five years old …

Food4Kids addresses a situation that most people haven’t thought about, that a number of children in our very own community are at risk of going hungry at weekends.
That’s because about 5% of the children attending local schools live in families that are struggling to make ends meet, with not enough money left over to properly feed their families after paying for rent, transport, clothing, medical and other essential expenses.
Those of us with children or grandchildren in our lives can predict the first thing most kids say when they walk in the door: I’m hungry! What can I eat?
But some children often go home to almost empty cupboards and fridges.
Those kids really depend upon getting some free food at school, Monday to Friday, through the many wonderful breakfast and snack programs run at most schools in Guelph. But then what do they do on weekends?
Sadly, weekends can be a terrible struggle for them with inadequate food at home, and these elementary school children are too small and young to solve the problem for themselves.
That’s where the Food4Kids program kicks in, by providing the most needy children with a nutritious weekend food bag to take home from school.
Currently, we are supporting 400 school children out of the 700 we think need our help in Guelph, and we are at 30 out of 39 elementary schools.
Through our bulk buying, we are able to provide each child with a great food bag containing 16-18 healthy items, for the low cost of around $15 per child per weekend. And what a difference this makes!
By feeding the children on the weekend, it helps their whole family by reducing stress and allowing them to spend limited funds elsewhere.
And during school holidays, when schools are closed, Food4Kids provides grocery gift cards to help the families purchase food.

So right now, Food4Kids is spending your donations on food to provide healthy weekend food bags for kids that really, really need this support from our community.

Collectively, our 100 Women team donated $13,775 to help the Food4Kids Guelph program.

And saving the best news for last, this generous donation has allowed us to take all 20 children off our waiting list to start receiving weekend food bags, and there’s enough money left over to create space for another 5 children as well!

Thank you so much for helping Food4Kids to help even more children in Guelph, who no longer leave school on a Friday wondering how they will be fed on the weekend.

And thank you also for the wonderful volunteering from 100 Women who have stepped up to help on a regular basis. We welcome any of you to find out more from us about how YOU could become a Food4Kids volunteer, too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for making a difference in children’s lives!

(Right to left) Tannis Sprott, Peggy Brightwell, Sharon Lewis and Miriam Vince
make a 100WWCG cheque presentation to
Food For Kids Guelph — (Right to left) Tannis Sprott, Peggy Brightwell, Sharon Lewis and Miriam Vince make a 100WWCG donation to Food4Kids Guelph!

Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail Says “Thank You”

Tannis Sprott makes a 100WWCG cheque presentation to
G2G Executive Director Doug Cerson and Executive Co-ordinator Willow Hall

Hello everyone,

It’s so good to be with you all. My name is Willow Hall I am the Executive Coordinator for G2G Rail Trail Inc.

First, I extend my gratitude on behalf of our organization, stakeholders, and trail users to the 100 Women Who Care Guelph Organization. Together as individuals, you represent a powerful example of what can happen when people band together to create change within their community.

Working in collaboration with the City of Guelph and local stakeholder organizations we have developed a plan to create a launch point at York Road Park right before the Guelph “Covered bridge”. The launch point will include an 8-foot double-sided Kiosk adjacent to the parking area.

This will be the first kiosk of its kind in Guelph and will direct those wishing to participate in the G2G Rail Trail Experience to KM 0 of the trail. The map board will also include emergency and location information for those who are unfamiliar with the area. Working with the city the map board will also highlight local trail sections for the community to enjoy.

The installation of the kiosk and map board is anticipated for the spring of this year. The map board will be created with the required accessibility features to ensure it meets AODA standards,

Through the support of your organization, a strong message has been sent to the City of Guelph Staff and Counselors. Safe, accessible, and easy-to-navigate pedestrian pathways are essential to the people of Guelph. As a direct result of your group’s support for this project, conversations have taken place with the city of Guelph that allows G2G Rail Trail a seat at the table. We are currently in conversation with the City and like-minded groups to create further signage and wayfinding along the trail that will enable trail users to easily navigate to the start of the Kissing Bridge Trailway. All of this would not have been possible if not for your group’s investment in your community’s assets.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you tonight. I would be happy to chat or answer any questions you may have after the meeting.

Willow Hall ([email protected])

Executive Co-ordinator

G2G Rail Trail Inc. 36- 620 Davenport Rd Waterloo, ON N2V 2C2

Registration #83590 6231 RR 0001

January 2023 Meeting: 100WWCG Members Ring in 2023 By Joining Together in Support of A Local Charity!

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

January 19th, 2023, 100 Women Who Care Guelph ushered in the New Year with our third in person/virtual hybrid meeting.

We should be proud of our efforts…Now in our 9th year, in spite of the challenges of a pandemic and an economic downturn, our group has contributed $

402,679 to local charities – an amazing success story!

But we couldn’t have done it without the wholehearted commitment of our membership. Working together, we have remained steadfast in our mission to support local charities and make a difference within our community.

Our members are awesome.

Photo by Ben Moreland on Unsplash

Are you wondering what happened at the meeting?

The meeting began with Sharon expressing our sincere thanks to Sandra Lastovic (from SkiptheBank.ca) and the Delta Hotels Conference Centre. The support they provide is essential to our success, and very much appreciated.

Sharon reminded members that this is our third of four hybrid meetings, and that the April meeting will be our last in the hybrid format. She also acknowledged the considerable help we have received from Audrey Lounder, who has been our virtual meeting moderator and guru.

Moving forward, tentative in person meeting dates are:

Tuesday, April 4th, 2023
Monday, June 26th, 2023
Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

This quarter, 14 members qualified to receive their 3 year membership pins and 28 received 5 year pins. Sharon expressed thanks to those dedicated members and recognized the new members and guests who were in the audience. She also noted some exiting news – 100WWCG has received 11 new charity nominations to add to our roster of potential giving opportunities!

The final order of business was to tell members that we have been approached by the Guelph chapter of “100 Men Who Give A Damn”, about the prospect of holding a “shared meeting” as a way of re-igniting enthusiasm for our shared goal of supporting Guelph charities. A survey will be sent to members in a separate email, to gauge interest in this initiative.Following opening remarks, chosen charities were announced. Members listened to enthusiastic presentations from our nominators and followed up by voting, both in person and remotely.

While ballots were counted, we listened to Willow Hall, Executive Co-ordinator of G2G Rail Trail Inc. (Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail) who thanked 100 Women Who Care Guelph for our October donation.

Our Chosen Charities

On Sunday, January 8th, Tannis selected the names of three charities which had been included in our nomination draw. This allowed our nominators an opportunity to prepare presentations in advance of our in person meeting.

Our three chosen charities were:

Food4Kids Guelph
(Nominated by Terrie Jarvis)

Terry Jarvis presented on behalf of Food4Kids Guelph. Food4Kids is a largely volunteer-run organization which tries to bridge the gap for children who face chronic hunger and severe food-insecurity.

This organization has been working hard to identify children in need, through the elementary school system. Kids in need are provided with nutritious weekend food bags to take home from school on Fridays.

Funds from a 100WWCG donation would be used to keep feeding the kids, guarantee continued operation of the program and to reduce a growing waiting list of new clients.

Kiwanis Music Festival of Guelph
(Nominated by Barb McKay)

Barb McKay was unable to attend the meeting due to a last minute issue, so Tannis Sprott read Barb’s presentation on behalf of the Kiwanis Music Festival of Guelph.

The Kiwanis Music Festival of Guelph is one of the largest youth services programs in the arts in our community.

This program emphasizes the importance of music to emotional well-being along with the need to mentor enthusiastic young talent. Most importantly, the festival provides thousands of young, aspiring musicians with annual performance opportunities second to none.

Funds from a 100WWCG donation would be directed to the scholarship and bursary program, augmentation of school programs and improvements to the festival’s website.

CMHA Waterloo Wellington
(Nominated by Lisa Hood)

Lisa Hood presented on behalf of CMHA Waterloo Wellington’s “Food For Life” program. Designed by a registered dietician and delivered by U of G students, the program responds to a huge increase in the number of eating disorder referrals to CMHWW, and a definite trend towards clients being younger and younger.

At a time when society is bombarded with conflicted and confusing messages about healthy eating, weight and nutrition, this program educates children, teachers and families about a variety of nutrition-related topics. The initiative is offered through the Upper Grand DSB and Wellington Catholic DSB and targets grades JK to 4.

Current funding for this valuable program is running out and funds from a 100WWCG donation would be used to cover operating costs for a year.

Photo by Zack Xavier on Unsplash

Important Announcement!

Food4Kids Guelph
(Nominated by Terrie Jarvis)

Is the Recipient of our January 2023 Donation!

For more information, follow this link to our most recent press release.

Our donation will be used to guarantee continued operation of the program and to reduce a growing waiting list of new clients.

Tannis Sprott makes a 100WWCG cheque presentation to
G2G Executive Director Doug Cerson and Executive Co-ordinator Willow Hall

Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail Said a Heartfelt “Thank You!” For Our October DonationWillow Hall, Executive Co-ordinator of Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail, expressed thanks to our membership for donations we made as a result of voting at our meeting in October.

Follow this link to read what the team had to say.

Where do we go from here?

It’s very exciting to begin a new year and 100WWCG is pleased to have the opportunity to continue its efforts to provide funding to local charities. We have stayed connected – in person or by Zoom – and we have stayed engaged, in spite of the challenges we have faced. It is great to see that there is no shortage of enthusiasm in our membership, to find new charities to support.

We’re on a mission to make 2023 our most successful year of giving yet!

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting, on April 4th, 2023, at 7:00 pm, at the Delta Hotels Conference Centre.

Sharon, Tannis, Miriam, Lisa, Peggy and Dianne

The 100 Women Team

Press Release January 2023 (Food4Kids Guelph)

100 Women Who Care Guelph Fight Hunger With Food4Kids Guelph

100WWCG joins the fight against childhood hunger here at home by choosing Food4Kids Guelph as the latest recipient of their $13,000+ donation.

Food insecurity in Canada has doubled since the advent of COVID in 2020. There are many reasons contributing to a family’s inability to provide enough food at home, and difficulties surrounding the pandemic have exacerbated many of them, from job loss or illness to our current state of food inflation.

While there are many breakfast and snack programs run at schools in Guelph, the weekend can seemingly stretch on endlessly for a hungry child, leading to Food4Kids “Closing the Weekend Gap” initiative.

Once children in need are identified by the schools, Food4Kids Guelph packages up and delivers a weekend food bag for each child to the schools every Friday. This work continues like clockwork every week, thanks to the efforts of one paid employee, 25 regular volunteers, and many occasional volunteers.

Now in it’s fifth year of operation, Food4Kids Guelph provides weekend food bags to 400 children in our city. Since September alone, they have sent home 5,000 food bags.

Even while utilizing bulk food purchases, at a cost of $15 per child per weekend it amounts to $6,000 per week. With no government support, Food4Kids Guelph faces a yearly fundraising goal of $400,000 to keep the program running. Even at that level, they have had to cap the numbers at 400 children and have started a waiting list.

The benefits of adequate and consistent nutrition on the immediate, short, and long-term developmental outcomes for children is immense. 100WWCG is proud to partner with Food4Kids Guelph to battle chronic hunger, investing in the present and the future of our smallest, most vulnerable citizens.

Visit www.100womenwhocareguelph.com for more information or to join 100WWCG and help support those in need in our community.