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.
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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