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Local Women = Local Impact: 100 + Women Who Care New Tecumseth continue to help local charities in need

February 17, 2022   ·   0 Comments

The concept is simple yet powerful: 100 women gather for just one hour with $100 each to give. A local charity or non-profit is chosen to receive the proceeds raised – currently about $5,000 per meeting, with a goal to raise that amount to $10,000 – with applications for new presenters always welcome. 

The first meeting of 2022 was held at the Gibson Centre for Arts & Culture on Thursday, February 10 at 7 p.m.

Representatives from three local not-for-profit groups – S.H.I.F.T. (Support and Hope for Individuals and Families Today), The Alliston & District Humane Society (ADHS) and The Krasman Centre presented, with the majority of the votes going to S.H.I.F.T.

At press time, as funds continued to flow in, the exact donation amount was unknown. The remaining two charities are not “out”, however, and can reapply to be heard later in the year, with additional 2022 meeting dates set for: May 12, September 22, and November 17.

The first to present was the ADHS, which serves the communities of New Tecumseth, Adjala–Tosorontio, Mulmur and the villages of Rosemont, Hockley, Cookstown, and Schomberg, by providing shelter for stray and unwanted animals, with priority given to abused and neglected animals.

They strive for a 100 per cent adoption rate, and have a no-kill policy in effect.

Services include shelter, veterinary care, rehabilitation, socialization and adoption, as well as lost and found matching services, K9 pound services, a wildlife information line and a wildlife officer – to pick-up injured animals.

They applied to 100+ Women to have their case heard, as they are in a situation of “extreme overcrowding at the shelter”. They are fundraising to expand the shelter to double its size with 1,800 sq.ft., to be added to the north side of the existing building, located on the 4th Line of Tosorontio.

The ADHS currently helps over 1000 animals each year.

For more information, and to find out how you can help them directly visit them online at allistonhumane.com

The next to present was Lisa Nicholl, Board Chair of S.H.I.F.T., who spoke on the launch of the new capital campaign as the group plans their move out of its current shelter location (a church that has rented them space for several years, but now needs to reclaim the building, with ample notice) at Paris Street and Wellington Street.

S.H.I.F.T. is working with a local real estate agent to find its next location, to continue helping people who face homelessness and food insecurity.

S.H.I.F.T. has expanded its original shelter services to now include community dinners and street outreach – developing relationships with at risk individuals and recommending local services that can help.

Their goal is to partner with individuals and families to make a meaningful S.H.I.F.T. in people’s circumstances. However, the shelter remains full (with COVID friendly capacities of 5-8 people per night). 

S.H.I.F.T.’s biggest fundraiser of the year, Coldest Night of the Year, will take place later this month.

For more information about S.H.I.F.T. visit them online at www.shiftforgood.ca, email info@shiftforgood.ca or call 705 435-7293.

For more information about the Coldest Night of the Year walk, or to donate visit www.CNOY.org/Alliston.

The final presenter was Susan of The Krasman Centre, a service that provides peer support for those whose life has been touched by mental health or addiction issues. They have three locations (including Newmarket, Richmond Hill) and are located at 17 Paris Street in Alliston. The Krasman Centre offers information and resources about a variety of mental health recovery-related topics and programs, as well as training, education and skills building, computer and Internet access, phone/fax/photocopier use for consumers and survivors, and self-help initiatives such as workshops and groups promoting creativity through the arts.

Krasman’s main focus, however, is providing basic needs for people experiencing homelessness and assistance with winter needs through The Warm Line – a 24-hour, toll-free support line 1-888-777-0979.

Susan told the 100+ Women that 1 in 7 people currently live in poverty, and that the number is growing.

In Alliston, The Krasman Centre provides survival items – including cleaning product kits.

“For the people who are housed, and buying food, sometimes buying cleaning products is out of reach,” said Susan. “And a dirty or uninviting environment doesn’t just cause infections and repulsion, it also pulls apart your emotional control and mental stability.”

Susan told the Women she would use the proceeds of the meeting to buy more cleaning kits, containing environmentally friendly solutions when available, for distribution.

As the Alliston location does not offer showering facilities, any personal care or hygiene items would be passed to the other centres.

For more information about The Krasman Centre call 1-888-777-0979 (24/7), email groups@krasmancentre.com or join the live chat on krasmancentre.com.

At Thursday’s meeting, about 20 women came out to hear the presentations (with more joining online), with two of the presenters also communicating their needs remotely.

“We heard from three amazing community programs last night, and the majority’s choice for our donation went to S.H.I.F.T. (Support and Hope for Individuals and Families Today)! A huge thanks goes out to The Krasman Centre, and Alliston & District Humane Society for their incredible presentations, as well.”

S.H.I.F.T. responded on Facebook by commenting, “Thank you to 100+ Women New Tecumseth for awarding these funds to SHIFT. We are extremely grateful for the support of this community!”

“Our meetings are a gathering of like-minded women committed to positively impacting our community,” said the group on Facebook. “The ‘100 Women Who Care’ movement was started in November of 2006 by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, Michigan. It is a brilliantly simple way to raise money efficiently and quickly for local charities. Karen’s group of 100 women, at their first one-hour meeting, each wrote a cheque for $100 directly to a local charity. Collectively, they raised $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city. Since then, the idea took root and spread across North America. Today, Women Who Care chapters have formed all over the world. These groups collectively have donated more than a million dollars to locally based organizations.”

With 109 current members having joined since the organization’s inception in 2019, 100+ Women is looking for women to stand with them in helping local charities achieve their fullest potential.

To date, despite the pandemic, they have donated $36,031 (plus the proceeds of the February 2022 meeting) to nine local projects and charities. 

Quarterly meetings are one hour long, with a donation of $100 per person (plus, team-donations are available) through the CanadaHelps link on the 100+ Women website, while e-transfers and cheques are no longer accepted, a charitable receipt will be sent upon payment (depending on how a team is splitting its payment) for payments over $20.

Plan to join the next 100+ Women Who Care New Tecumseth meeting (and bring a friend) to learn how you can make a difference.

For more information visit them online or on Facebook.

By Wendy Gabrek

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