‘100+ Women Who Care’ Event in Bemidji Raises $14,000 for Village of Hope

Sometimes the smallest actions can have the biggest impacts. Last Thursday, that impact was felt by the Village of Hope homeless shelter in Bemidji when over 100 women gathered to raise $14,000 for them.

“Honestly, words cannot describe it,” said Village of Hope Board Member Trisha Vojak. “I have never experienced something like this. I am feeling ecstatic and full of gratitude because this money is going to help so many families.”

The 100+ Women Who Care movement is exactly what it sounds like. Over 100 women gather and donate $100 each, then pool the money to donate more than $10,000 to a local nonprofit organization.

“That kind of is an exercise in collective giving,” said 100+ Women Who Care Bemidji Chair Kay Mack. “When people come and contribute their $100, they are given a ticket to vote on and the ability to nominate a local nonprofit.”

Out of those dozens of nominations, four are randomly selected. The representatives of those chosen nonprofits are able to state their case as to why they need the money and what their respective organizations do for the community.

“And then the women go and vote,” said Mack. “And literally, it’s that simple. The agency that gets the most votes gets all of the money for the evening.”

“Having so many people here that are – that want to come together to help the community is absolutely amazing,” added Vojak.

At their first ever fundraising event, the group raised $11,600 for Evergreen Youth and Family Services. Although they topped that number for their second event, the group is still looking to grow in the future.

“I feel since this event was so big the second time, it’s just going to get better and better,” stated 100+ Women Who Care Bemidji Volunteer Organizer Courtney Aitken Gifford. “If we do raise more than $20,000, we’ll split it between two organizations. So that would be a great goal of ours to get it to over 200 women and be able to impact two organizations in one night.”

The 100+ Women Who Care events happen all over the country, and the Bemidji group plans on continuing to do two events per year. Their next one is set to happen in April, and no memberships are required – any woman is able to bring her $100 and participate for the good cause.