100 Women of the Hill Country began as dream in the hearts of founders Ambre Bodle and Michelle Ernst who met as strangers over lunch one November day in 2020. Both ladies had been praying fervently for a way to give back to the community in a meaningful way and felt led to this cause almost instantly. They immediately set out to make their dream a reality.
The idea behind the organization is simple, yet powerful and also unique. Membership consists of 100 local women who want to make a big impact for local charities. Members meet quarterly and agree to donate $100 to charity each quarter. At each meeting, three worthy charities present their needs and the group votes to determine the recipient of the award. The result is $40,000 to charity each year with just 4 hours of meeting time. Our mantra is “100 women, $400, 4 hours a year means $40,000 to charity.” In addition, the organization offers the members a chance to socialize while making an impact in their community.
Charities are able to apply or can be nominated by members. Each charity nominee is then vetted by a member of the 100 Women Leadership team and entered into a drawing. From there, three nominees are randomly drawn. Of those, one will be chosen by vote to receive the $10,000 award. Charity requirements can be found online and 100 Women accepts donations from charities that serve within Kendall, Bexar, Gillespie, Comal, Bandera and Kerr counties and agrees to use the funds within this service area, ensuring our community directly benefits.
When Ambre and Michelle began forming the organization their main goal was to find fellow members with servant hearts that wanted to give back to the community we all know and love. “Initially membership was capped at 100 for the first meeting and those spots were filled within 34 minutes of registration opening! It has been a blessing to see how many within our community want to give back in a big way,” explained Michelle. Because of the high interest, the organization has begun collecting a wait list and will be opening limited membership opportunities prior to the next meeting on November 11.
The first meeting was held on August 19 at the Kendall Inn where members awarded $10,000 to Retreat for Kids, a Boerne-area charity that provides Christ-centered, residential center for girls in a time of crisis.
100 Women of the Hill Country is a full operating 501c3 organization that also accepts donations to support other community projects and worthwhile causes. For information on being a donor, please contact Kelly Mattingly. Board members include Co- Founders Ambre Bodle and Michelle Ernst, Kelly Mattingly, Mandy Jones, Staci Gahm, Callie Roberson, Heather Hill, Mary Woods, Kasey Miller and Charity Teague.