SAULT STE. MARIE — Sault women are coming together this month to help make a difference in their community.
At the ninth annual 100+ Women with Heart on May 22, 100 women will gather and put their $100 donations together to make a big difference for a nonprofit in the area. The annual event supports a different nonprofit each year.
“It’s so important because it’s about local people making an investment in the community and making sure we are supporting local initiatives,” said event organizer Sabrina Neveu.
The idea is to bring together as many women as possible, and they each only need to make a small donation in order to have a large impact. If 100 women donate $100 each, the group will reach its goal of $10,000.
“The hope is that if we can gather enough people together by the end of the night, we can raise a huge amount of $10,000 or more with little individual effort,” said Neveu. “We don’t always reach our $10,000 mark, so it’s important for anyone who can come to come and share with friends and really spread the word.”
Attendees each cast a vote for their favorite local nonprofit when they make their donation. At the end of the night, three nonprofits are chosen at random and the people who voted for those organizations make their case in front of the whole group as to why it should be chosen.
Then, the whole group votes on where the money will go.
In previous years, the group has raised thousands for groups and projects like Families Against Narcotics Chippewa County, the Diane Peppler Resource Center, Silent Hearts, the Soo Theatre Project and the Soo Locks Children’s Museum.
Last year, the Chippewa County Animal Shelter was the recipient.
The 100+ Women with Heart event was first started by a group of four local women when they realized that each of them could only make a small impact alone, but by coming together they could do a lot more.
In total, the event has raised more than $50,000 over the last eight years.
“We recognize that it takes all of us each doing our part and the generosity of the entire gathering of like-minded people to make a big impact,” said Neveu.
Each year, the event is hosted at a different, woman-owned local business. This year, Northern Sand Warehouse will be the host.
Men who wish to participate can have a donation made on their behalf by any woman at the event. Anyone who identifies as a woman can attend or become a member of the organization.
Any nonprofit organization can be entered to win the donation as long as they are registered in Chippewa County and have not won two years in a row.
The event begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 22 at Northern Sand Warehouse. For more information and updates, visit the 100+ Women With Heart Facebook page.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: 100+ Women with Heart returns: Annual event will help address community need in Sault
Reporting by Brendan Wiesner, Sault Ste. Marie News / The Sault News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
