When people come together with a shared goal and sense of purpose, amazing things can happen. That's the idea behind the Broomfield chapter of 100 Women Who Care, a group of local women who are making a big impact for our Broomfield community.
Simple yet powerful, the concept ignited in the town of Jackson, Michigan in 2006 from an off hand comment exposing a simple need - baby cribs.
Karen Dunigan, the founder of 100 Women Who Care was attending a lunch when she learned about a need regarding portable cribs. Details were shared about new mothers bringing their babies home from the hospital and placing the sleeping infants in boxes, dresser drawers, or on their own beds because they could not afford a proper crib. Some of these babies didn’t survive the night.
Karen couldn’t stop thinking about these moms and their infants and knew there had to be a way to meet the need. She had an idea. Already heavily involved in the community, Karen shared it, and in bringing her friends together, telling the story, and asking them each to write a $100 check, she raised over $12,000 in one afternoon. It was in this concept that 100 Women Who Care was born.
The gifts kept going as the organization blossomed significantly with chapters launching across the country, including one right here in Broomfield, founded in 2019 by a group of local non-profits.
Kim Weber and Helaine Bader, serve as co-chairs for the group and are both passionate advocates for the power of community and the importance of giving back. Their leadership and involvement are a natural extension of their own personal commitments to community service, anchored in a strong belief in the power of collective giving and the impact it can have on local charities. Instrumental in guiding the group and ensuring that it remains focused on its mission, their passion and commitment have inspired other women in the community to get involved and make a difference.
The group's success is due in large part to the incredible support of its steering committee. This special group of 13 women volunteer tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that meetings are fun, welcoming, that they run smoothly, and donations are collected and distributed quickly. Their hard work and dedication have helped to make the Broomfield chapter of 100 Women Who Care a shining example of what can be achieved when compassionate, like minded women come together for a common cause.
The Broomfield chapter's eligibility with The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation has also been a key multiplier in their giving. Dick Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, Inc., created this family foundation in 2004 with the intent of giving back to the communities where he grew up, raised his family, and built Best Buy stores. Connection with this Foundation offers a matching grant opportunity of up to $5,000 to the non-profit organizations nominated and selected to receive donations, allowing the Broomfield Chapter of 100 Women Who Care to make an even bigger donation, above what they were already doing on their own.
One of the things that makes 100 Women Who Care so powerful is the simplicity of the concept. The group meets quarterly. At each meeting, members are given the opportunity to nominate a local non-profit organization that they feel deserves support. Once all nominations are received, three charities are randomly selected from the pool. The members who nominate the selected charities are given the opportunity to speak briefly about these organizations and why they deserve support. After the presentations, the members of the group vote on which charity to support.
Once a charity is chosen, each member directly donates $100 to the chosen organization. If the group has 100 members, this means that the chosen charity will receive a donation of $10,000 from the members and an additional $5000 from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. The entire process takes just one hour, making it an easy way to support local organizations.
The influence of the Broomfield Chapter of 100 Women Who Care is evident in the stories of the local charities they have supported. At their very first meeting in 2019 with 53 women in attendance, the group donated $5,300 to The Refuge Cafe, a mission center planted in Broomfield, whose values include serving and advocating for people in need, especially those who have been forgotten, oppressed or marginalized, welcoming everyone with love, dignity, and hospitality. The donation allowed the installation of a mobile shower for the unhoused. Still in use today, the center has been able to make the shower permanent, expand their hours and include laundry services.
In 2022, the Broomfield Chapter of 100 Women Who Care continued their support of local charities by donating funds to the Broomfield Cares Outreach Team, receiving a total of $15,000 which included a matched grant from The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation of $5,000. This organization provides outreach and support to the community’s unhoused individuals and families. The funds donated by 100 Women Who Care were used to provide housing, food, and other critical services to those in need.
Here are some recent recipients:
Be The Gift - providing practical assistance to single mom home owners in need of home repair. Their goal is to ensure a safe and healthy home environment for single mom families and to improve their quality of life - $10,135!
Broomfield Buddies - bringing together members of the community and non-profit organizations to come alongside schools and support children’s social, emotional, and mental health - $9,200!
Anchor House - more than just an apartment building. It is a retreat, a safe place to call a temporary home for youth who have experienced foster care - $15,060!
It doesn’t stop there. The list gets longer, the impact even greater. Since the group's inception in 2019, members have donated $164,790, and with the matching grant from the Schulze Family Foundation, the total is $228,690 and it is all local!
In addition to the powerful financial support provided to local charities, the Broomfield Chapter of 100 Women Who Care offers space for members to connect with like-minded individuals. The group provides a sense of community and belonging.
Join them. The next meeting of the Broomfield chapter of 100 Women Who Care will be on August 22nd, 2023. Women who are interested in learning more about the group and getting involved are encouraged to attend, with no obligation. It's an excellent opportunity to connect with other women who are passionate about making a difference supporting local non-profits while creating a local culture of generosity and philanthropy that makes our Broomfield community so special.
It's an excellent opportunity to connect with other women who are passionate about making a difference supporting local non-profits while creating a local culture of generosity and philanthropy that makes our Broomfield community so special.