Two members of 100 Women Who Care Foothills are now leading the group as co-chairs.

The group's latest donation in March was somewhat of a passing of the torch from former president Julie Hodge to the new co-chairs, Cindy Dorais and Kayla Christensen.

100 Women Who Care Foothills is a group that collectively raises money to donate to non-profits in the Foothills area.

That includes Okotoks, High River, Diamond Valley, De Winton, Diamond Valley, Nanton, Vulcan, and Foothills County.

Four times a year, the group donates to a local non-profit, with each member contributing $100.

The organizations are chosen via a nomination system, where any member can submit a nomination. Three random nominations are then chosen to make a presentation to the group's members, and the members then vote on which one will receive the donation for that quarter.

When the chance to be involved in the group's leadership arose, Christensen didn't hesitate.

"I've been involved with 100 Women Who Care Foothills for about a year and a half now. Julie approached me when she took on the role of organizer. I've gone to a few meetings and realized what an impact it was making in the community. Then when she approached me to help navigate this in the future, I couldn't turn it down. I couldn't help take this over because it is great for the community."

Dorais was also eager to help coordinate the group, and she's particularly excited about the co-chair setup.

"When Julie was reaching out to the group to have somebody take over, I said, 'I'd love to, but I don't want to do the social media aspect,' and Kayla said, 'I'd love to, but I don't want to do the money tallying aspect.' So, we were like 'High five, we've got this.'"

For Dorais, the group's appeal is the accessibility and simplicity of the premise.

"It is very simple; it is very easy to execute. Our goal is to have 100 women donate $100 four times a year and bring nominations in to support the community. I suppose the only real rule in all this is that nominees have to be a registered charity, and we have to be able to issue a receipt... If somebody can't donate in a month or quarter and needs to take a break, that's fine. That's really the beauty of it."

What drew Christensen to the group was learning about how many organizations there are in the Foothills.

"I'm not a softie, but the last one I went to, I needed Kleenex because what these people do in the community is so amazing. Two of the organizations, I had no idea about. When you realize what's going on in the community and how there's help that's needed and these people are stepping up to fill those spaces and knowing that these funds are helping people in the community, it's super inspiring."

Since assuming the co-chair role, she's been able to connect several members interested in volunteering with local non-profits.

The next 100 Women Who Care Foothills meeting is scheduled for May 2.

More information on the group can be found on their website.

Related Stories