Liz Redmond and Jorie O'Malley, founders of 100+ Women Who Care in St. Louis, were inspired by Liz's mother, Betsy, a member of the organization in Dayton, Ohio. In 2009, Liz saw an opportunity to expand the reach of "100+ Women" to the St. Louis area.
Quarterly, the women involved in 100+ Women meet and discuss charities that have impacted them. Three of those charities are drawn from a hat. The members that nominated those organizations are given five minutes to present that charity. A vote among the members follows the presentations. One charity is selected. Each member writes a $100 check directly to the chosen charity.
The meetings last about 45 minutes, but the connections made for business and continued philanthropy go beyond the quarterly meetings.
"Any woman can join! Members fill out a "Commitment Form," agreeing to write three checks a year to the charity chosen at each meeting. Our members are located all throughout St. Louis and Illinois. We even have one in Bozeman, MT (she moved but wanted to stay in the group)," stated Liz.
In 2019, Best Buy and their Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation chose 100+ Women Who Care to participate in their matching gift program. This foundation donates an additional $5000 to the 100+ Women's charities.
To date, 100+ Women Who Care has donated $437,400 to St. Louis charities in need, including Urban Harvest STL, Caring for Kids STL, Hands That Serve, and Little Bit Foundation.
