Members of 100 Women Who Care Sylvan Lake and Area remain passionate about giving back to the community with a recent donation of $6,300 to the Red Deer Hospice Society.
“The Red Deer Hospice is a home for the terminally ill and provides a quiet and caring environment for individuals who are at the end of life’s journey, serving many central Alberta communities as well as Sylvan Lake residents. As Hospice residents are not charged a fee to stay, the society is able to provide the compassionate care that they are known for in part because of generous donations and support from the community,” shared 100 Women Who Care Sylvan Lake and Area. “Our members remain positive and passionate about making real, positive change in our community by giving financial support to local community groups and non-profit organizations,” they added.
Since its inception three years ago, 100 Women Who Care Sylvan Lake and Area has collected and donated over $59,000 to local non-profits and charity organizations. The Sylvan Lake Community Partners, Bethany Care Foundation of Sylvan Lake, the Sylvan Lake Library, and the Sylvan Lake Food Bank are some organizations that have received support in the past.
“We raise a considerable amount of money for a non-profit and what is great about it is that it is given to them with few strings attached, so they could apply it to where the need is the greatest,” said group organizer Kim Langmaid.
“The idea is a 100 women get together for one hour, three times a year and in that time we learn about three charities or non-profit organizations in the community that come forward and need our help with funding. The groups/organizations have to meet certain criteria. Number one is they have to serve the local population in some way, serve the residents of Sylvan Lake and they also have to be able to provide our members with tax and charitable donation receipts. So, a member will come forward with a nomination for an agency or group, we will listen to the nomination as a group of women and then we vote. The majority wins, whoever gets the most votes wins the money that’s collected for that meeting,” said Langmaid.
Each recipient can only be re-elected after three years of receiving a donation.
While group members have shown continued dedication to contribute to the cause, the changing environment of the pandemic has led some to pause donations for the time being.
“Right now we have about 104, but of course, times have been challenging not just for businesses but the people in our community too. Some of our members have said that they need to pause, and we respect that and we keep them on the roll. Generally, we raise between $5,800 and $6,300 per meeting and that’s with our members contributing where they can. Our goal is to hit that $10,000 mark and we are trying to grow towards that,” said Langmaid.
While the women typically sign up with the intent of a commitment of $300 a year to go towards local programs and charities, the group also welcomes the option to donate $100 per meeting as a pair.
Anyone interested to join the group could reach out via email at donate100women@gmail.com and visit www.100womenwhocaresylvanlake.ca for more information. Upcoming meetings are scheduled Feb. 7 at 7 p.m., June 13 and Oct. 17.