It's been an exciting year for Centre Wellington 100 Women Who Care.
Since launching a local chapter it has donated $101,800 to 12 local charities within the community. On top of that, the organization distributed $37,800 in 2022, which is up from 2021 and 2020 when the organization first started.
"It's incredible, I'm so happy," said founding member Tracy Bachly about the results.
"We're starting to get momentum again, people are coming out and people are feeling more comfortable to donate, they're not worried about what's going to be, and that sort of thing, because when the pandemic hit, nobody knew."
Bachly began the local chapter in January 2020 with the goal of forming a group of women who could contribute a total of $400 per year to be given to different community groups. To decide where the money goes, members can nominate charities, then three are selected at random for members to pitch to the audience. One is then selected.
Through this program, Bachly said she has had the opportunity to learn about organizations within Wellington County she hadn't heard of before, like the Child Witness Centre.
"Kim Rodrigues (executive director) at the Child Witness Centre gave us an incredible impact statement," Bachly said about the organization, which supports advocates and educates youth, children and families going through the criminal trial process.
"We had a member bring it to us and I thought, 'Wow, that was incredible,' and they won."
While inflation didn't have much impact on participation, Bachly said members have opted to donate to organizations supporting emergency shelter and food security. Recently, Bachly presented a cheque on behalf of CW 100 WWC for $10,300 to the Centre Wellington Food Bank for its Christmas hamper program.
"A lot of people are worried about the lack of support the food bank has been getting, but that hasn't shied us away from supporting other charities as well," said Bachly.
With meetings held in person, Bachly adds they have also become opportunities for socialization, which may have led to a bump in new members. Currently, there are a total of 118 members in the chapter.
For some members, Bachly said the impact of donating in a group is also very motivating to keep going.
"At every meeting we ask the previous member to come and speak, and you can feel pride in our audience, knowing we were able to help, even if it's just that one person, or that one group," Bachly said about the power of donating together.
With its last meeting for 2022 held earlier in December, Bachly said the goal for 2023 is to raise even more money to give to more charities and get more members.
"We don't cap, there's no cap at all, even if we had 200 members and raised $20,000, I would be thrilled," said Bachly.
The next meeting for the Centre Wellington 100 Women Who Care is Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Interested residents can sign up by emailing [email protected] or learn more about the organization on its website.
