WESTLOCK — Since its inception in November 2016, the 100 Women Who Care (WWC) — Westlock group has raised and handed out a little over $250,000 to various non-profit organizations within the community.
This past Wednesday evening, Nov. 15, the 100 WWC group voted to donate $10,000 to the Westlock Curling Club, who will use the monies to upgrade the lighting in the curling arena at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre. Paula Clark and Erin Wiese made the request on behalf of the Westlock Curling Club.
The two other groups who were requesting funding at this meeting were the Cultural Arts Theatre group (CATS), with a presentation by Barry Robinson, and the Westlock Cadets, with a presentation by leader Mary Ashton-Groulx. Both of these groups can still come back at a later meeting with their requests.
The monies donated by 100 WWC at their quarterly meetings to these organizations in their first 28 meetings was $248,800. With the $10,0oo donation this time around, the total has now reached $258,800!
The idea behind 100 WWC is both simple and powerful. Each “member” donates $100 quarterly (or $400 annually), plus a small administration fee. Meetings are held quarterly where members can hear presentations from three non-profit organizations seeking funding for various projects.
Following the presentations, the members vote for the organization they feel the monies should go to. Members not present can have another member vote for them by proxy.
Membership has varied over the years since 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers dropped, and at one point, there were only 68 members, and thus only $6,800 donated at that time.
It has now climbed back up to 100 members, but organizers say it doesn’t have to stop there, and encourage more women - and men too - to get involved.
If you would like to join in this simple, yet very effective way to help your community, contact the organizers at [email protected] for more information.
The next meeting of the 100 WWC ladies will be held at the Ramada Inn at 7 p.m. on March 13, 2024.
