100 Women Who Care Mississauga is celebrating two years of giving! On Thursday, May 18th we will be at the Ontario Racquet Club celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of our Chapter and all we have accomplished since our formation.
In February, 2021, during the Covid lockdowns and a time of uncertainty for many people, our Founder, Christine Hull, reached out to the 100 Who Care Alliance for permission to start a Chapter in Mississauga. Christine had participated in many worthy fundraisers in the past, but none of them had benefited the Mississauga community specifically, where she and her family live, and she wanted to see her efforts make a difference closer to home. There was previously a Chapter in Mississauga, but it disbanded in 2020, so she was given the go-ahead to start up. Christine reached out to her extensive personal network, asking for volunteers to help her get things set up and rolling; eighteen women answered her call, a Steering Team was formed, and an ambitious target date of April 20th, 2021 was set for the Grand Launch.
In the following weeks, a website was built, content was written, contacts were made, strategies were planned, Sponsors were generous, and social media was used extensively to generate interest. And, on April 20th, 100 Women Who Care Mississauga had our Grand Launch over ZOOM (due to ongoing lockdowns). With approximately 90 women on the call, and messages from Mayor Bonnie Crombie and other prominent Mississauga women, we opened up to members. By the time we held our first Giving Circle, on June 9th, we had 91 contributing members who voted to make the first collective donation of $9100 to The DAM in Meadowvale.
Our goal as a community of women is to collectively donate $30,000 a year. Over the last two years we have been able to donate over $58,000 to Mississauga charities and really help solve issues at the local level—and all of this as we were still growing our membership! In a group like this, membership is cyclical and ever changing. Circumstances change, people move away, plans change, and so members come and go. As of the November 2022 Giving Circle, we hit our target of 100+ members, and as of this writing, we have 129 contributing members! Congratulations to all of our Members, our Sponsors, and our Steering Team. Without you, we would not be able to keep the momentum going and continue to do great things!
Recap of Past Donation Recipients
To date, we have held six Giving Circles, with our seventh upcoming on June 14th. It’s worth noting that, once they have passed vetting, a charity continues to be eligible to receive the donation as long as the members continue to nominate them. Once a presenting charity receives the most member votes and receives the collective donation, they become ineligible for nomination for a two-year period. This means that, moving forward, previous recipients will start to become re-eligible for nomination!
The DAM (June 2021, $9100)
The DAM (Develop Assist Mentor) offers mentoring, training, programming, lunch and after school programs, etc. The DAM partners with youth to create an inclusive community where all are welcomed, valued and respected. In the summer of June 2021, after many months of lockdowns, minimal social interactions, and distance learning, The DAM used the 100 Women who Care Mississauga Collective Donation to fund outreach to youth throughout the summer, fund leadership programs, snacks, etc. The DAM is once again eligible for nominations for future Giving Circles.
EveryMind (December 2021, $9100)
EveryMind is an accredited organization that provides mental health services and counseling in individual and group settings to infants, children, youth, young adults (up to age 25) and families who live in the Region of Peel. Our collective donation funded group counselling sessions for the underserved demographic of 18-25 year olds. It was estimated our funds would be able to help over 100 young people receive the mental health services they need. EveryMind will once again be eligible for nomination in November 2023. (No photo available due to COVID restrictions at the time.)
Heart House Hospice (March 2022, $8500)
Heart House Hospice helps care for people with life-limiting illnesses and their families in Brampton and Mississauga. Our donation supported the *Help Us Understand Grief Program (HUUG)*, which provides support for children and youth who are living in a home where someone they love is dying or has died. Hospice and Bereavement counsellors are assigned to geographic areas and the donation supported the Mississauga team. Heart House Hospice will be re-eligible for nomination in March 2024.
The Compass Food Bank & Outreach Centre (June 2022, $8500)
The Compass Food Bank & Outreach Centre provides a safe and welcoming place for people to come for help. They offer practical and spiritual support to the challenges that often come along with a low income. With the funds donated, The Compass was able to support the children in their community catchment area who are usually part of the schools’ breakfast and lunch program. As a result of the 100 Women Who Care Mississauga donation, 324 children felt no interruption to their meal support, receiving breakfast and lunch supplied by The Compass every day of the summer. The Compass will become eligible for nomination again in June 2024.
Vita Centre (November 2022, $11,0000)
Vita Centre provides support, education, and counselling to vulnerable families, including pregnant and parenting youth, with the goal of empowering them to move forward and thrive. Vita Centre uses their Care Closet as a resource for client families to be able to provide formula, diapers and baby food for their children without worrying about the cost or the availability of the supplies they need. Vita Centre used the donation to purchase diaper sizes they were missing, specific brands and types of formulas, and healthy baby cereal and snacks that will fill in a baby’s nutrition on their journey from formula/milk to solid foods. Vita Centre will become eligible nomination again In November 2024.
Embrace Agency to End Violence (March 2023, $11,000)
Embrave: Agency to End Violence is an anti-violence organization providing shelter, counselling and advocacy supports for women, two-spirit, genderqueer, trans and non-binary folks and their children experiencing any form of violence. Our collective donation will fund their 24-hour helpline for a 3-4 month period. Embrave will be re-eligible for nomination in March 2025.
Register Now!
Join us as we celebrate our 2nd Anniversary Celebration on May 18th at the Ontario Racquet Club, from 7:00 to 8:30pm. Register now! You can also register for upcoming events, like the June Giving Circle. Guests are always welcome, but please register as well. If you would like to become a member so you can vote for your favourite charity at the upcoming June Giving Circle, please visit the Membership page of our website. You can join as an individual or a team.
Visit the Gallery page of our website to view more images from past events.
To learn more about our past recipients and events, please read our blogs.
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