Thank you to all of the women who joined us on the evening of July 11, 2016.  We had the pleasure of listening to an inspiring presentation from Barb McPhee, manager of the North End Harvest Market regarding the impact of our April 2016 donation to the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition, in support of the market.  Our $14,600 donation has really made a difference to their day to day operation and changed some lives!

Prior to the presentation by North End Harvest Market, we selected three of our nominated charities at random and heard from our three nominating members as to what our support for that charity could contribute to the community.  Below is a list of the selected charities and their nominators:

• Robin Smart presented on behalf of Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington, in support of their Minds in Motion program, which incorporates physical activity and mental stimulation for people with early to mid-stage signs of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias and their care partners.
• Paula Alblas presented on behalf of Civil K9 Youth Services, a  non-profit charitable organization focusing on the use of service dog training as a means to mentor youth, specifically boys aged 12-18 years old.
• Karen Bilton presented on behalf of Victim Services Wellington and their program which provides support to victims of crime, accident or loss, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round.

All three charity presentations were thorough and enthusiastic. The audience was fully engaged and asked thoughtful questions. In spite of the fact that all three charities were worthy contenders, a choice had to be made!

As we listened to Barb McPhee’s presentation, votes were tallied and our selected charity was the Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington. When pledges come in from all members we will be contributing $15,100 to their Minds in Motion program.  We look forward to hearing about that impact at our next meeting on October 3, 2016.

Here’s a photo of your combined donation and our nominating member.