In the winter of 2016, Montgomery County resident Linda Mathuran was in Florida visiting her sister when she learned of the 100 Women Who Care organization, a giving circle that meets four times a year when members nominate a local nonprofit to help. The concept intrigued her. After researching and discovering that such a group didn’t exist in Montgomery County, Mathuran decided to start one here. After recruiting two friends to join her, she then posted a notice at the Potomac Library and 35 people showed up to the initial meeting. Thus the 100 Women Who Care Lower Montgomery County was born. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Montgomery County group follows the successful formula for giving as other 100 Who Care chapters. Members commit to donating $100 a quarter to a charity chosen at the quarterly WWC meetings. The charity selection process is as follows:
Any member may submit a charity they wish to present at a meeting two weeks prior. The charity must be a 501(C)3 serving Montgomery County.
Of the charities submitted, three get chosen, and a representative of these charities will each have five to ten minutes to discuss the project for which they are requesting funds. Members are allowed to ask questions before voting by ballot for their charity of choice.
Members then make out a check for $100 to be delivered directly to the designated nonprofit. A representative of the charity will report back at the next meeting describing how they plan to will use the money.
Some of the worthy charities chosen in the past include: Active Minds, which works to prevent suicide among youth on college campuses, Montgomery’s Kids, Easter Seals and Mercy Health Clinic. The charity can also be considered not at the next meeting but the following one, twice a year. According to Mathuran, the group has collected $150,000 for charities so far. In addition, charities benefit by welcoming new volunteers to their organization.
For more information go to www.lowermocowwc.com. If you would like to join the next meeting Lower Montgomery Chapter of the 100 Women Who Care contact them at wwcmontgomery@gmail.com.