BURNETT COUNTY -- The philanthropic group 100 Women Who Care - Polk/Burnett held their third quarterly meeting on Wednesday, February 13th at Northwoods Crossing Event Center in Siren. The meeting, welcoming 89 new and returning members, was a tremendous success and the evening culminated with an $8,400 donation being made to Connections Store & More/Burnett County Food Shelf/Indianhead Community Action Agency, Inc. (ICAA).
ICAA’s mission is “to assist individuals in achieving self-sufficiency by providing the resources, education and services necessary to develop healthy families, sustainable communities and strong local businesses”. In 2018, the food pantry served nearly 1,000 individuals, with three-quarters of those individuals using the food pantry monthly, helping families and seniors make ends meet. Josie Penberthy spoke on behalf of the group and explained they hope to use the donation to upgrade their freezers and refrigeration units to more energy efficient models to reduce their high electricity bills. They also plan to redesign their building to move the food pantry to the back of the store, offering more confidentiality to the people who use their services. Any remaining funds will help expand the variety of healthy food offered at the food pantry. 100 Women Who Care - Polk/Burnett are proud to have contributed to their worthy cause.
The evening included an update from Community Referral Agency, the last group to receive 100 Women Who Care – Polk/Burnett’s quarterly donation. Cheri Moats spoke on behalf of the group and shared they were able to use the donation to purchase a new, larger van to help transport their clients and their families to the safe places they need to be. The van was purchased locally, in Polk County, and has been a wonderful new resource for their organization.
100 Women Who Care - Polk/Burnett meets quarterly, on the second Wednesday evening of February, May, August and November. At each meeting, three local non-profit groups are allowed to give a brief presentation to educate members about their cause. At the end of the presentations, each member votes anonymously for the group they feel is most deserving to receive their quarterly donation. Three different non-profits will be chosen at random from all applicants to present each quarter. All groups who apply must operate in Polk and/or Burnett, Wisconsin counties and have 501(c)(3) status. Once a non-profit group is selected to receive a donation, they will be removed from the eligible pool for two calendar years. If a non-profit group is chosen to present, but is not chosen to receive the donation, they will be added back to the drawing at the next quarterly meeting.
100 Women Who Care - Polk/Burnett is accepting new members and non-profit group applications. If you are interested in joining the group or submitting an application, please send an inquiry to 100wwc.pb@gmail.com. You can also “Like” the group on Facebook at “100 Women Who Care - Polk/Burnett” or visit www.100wwc-pb.weebly.com for information on upcoming meetings and donations made.
Founding member Tammy Twedt-Close said “We are so impressed with our enthusiastic members and hope to see our membership reach 100 by our next meeting! We have been able to donate a total of $20,300 to worthy causes in our communities and we’re excited to continue to support new groups each quarter!"
100 Women Who Care – Polk/Burnett will hold their next meeting on Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at Northwoods Crossing Event Center in Siren. The members would like to recognize and thank Jake and Holly Mangelsen for generously donating the use of the event center for their quarterly meetings.
Last Update: Feb 14, 2019 4:47 pm CST
