With their largest membership and subsequent collection to date, 100 Men Kawartha Lakes recently met and donated $15,000 to the Kawartha North Family Health Team. For the first time in the collective philanthropy group’s history, the other two nominated charities also received monetary donations courtesy of Lindsay Kinsmen Club.
Prior to the June 15 meeting, which was held at the Bobcaygeon Legion, each member of 100 Men Kawartha Lakes was given the opportunity to nominate a registered charity in the Kawartha Lakes. As happens ahead of each of the quarterly meetings, three of the nominated organizations were drawn at random and a representative from the charity was asked to make a five-minute statement on their organization’s work and how the organization would spend and benefit from a donation.
Each member attending the meeting cast a vote for their preferred charity, with the charity receiving the most votes selected to receive a donation. Each member of the club — which is now up to 150 members — then wrote a cheque for $100 to the winning charity.
The three groups selected to present at the June meeting were the Kawartha North Family Health Team, Kawartha Lakes Autism Support, and BGC Kawarthas (Boys & Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes).
Kawartha North Family Health Team won the majority vote, with $8,100 of the total $15,000 being given on the spot from members in attendance at the meeting. The remaining donation will be collected afterwards from members not in attendance at the meeting.
The Kawartha North Family Health Team is a community-based family health time located in Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon that provides health care services including walk-in clinics, preventative health programming, blood work, mental health and addiction recovery, and chronic disease management. They will soon also be providing services in Haliburton County, by operating the new urgent care clinic in Minden at the site of the now-closed emergency department.
Brad Campkin, a member of 100 Men Kawartha Lakes, tells kawarthaNOW that many members voted to support Kawartha North Family Health Team because they hadn’t realized it was a charitable organization rather than being funded by government.
“The members want to hear that the money is going to something concrete with a specific benefit,” he explains. “When [members] heard that the Kawartha North Family Health Team literally was funded by donations only, I think they were all taken aback.”
For the first time ever, the two organizations that weren’t selected also received monetary support thanks to a donation of $5,000 from the Lindsay Kinsmen Club. As a result of this generosity, Kawartha Lakes Autism Support received $3,000 while BGC Kawarthas received $2,000.
“This is the kind of positive energy and just incredible giving that we’re generating from this group,” Campkin notes
The collective philanthropy movement began in Michigan in 2006 when Karen Dunigan formed a group called 100 Women Who Care. Together, the women raised over $10,000 for 300 new baby cribs for a local organization. Since then, similar collective philanthropy groups of women, men, youth and even children have expanded to regions across the globe.
The 100 Men Kawartha Lakes group was formed in 2018 by Richard Gauder, who also began 100 Men in Scugog, Oshawa, Clarington, and Whitby. The club meets four times each year in March, June, September, and December. Since its formation, 100 Men Kawartha Lakes has donated $139,300 to 23 registered charities in the region.
Though 100 Men Kawartha Lakes is at well over 100 members now, they are always looking for more, explains Campkin.
“One of the things that attracts people to the club is that many times people are busy, and don’t want to volunteer their time on weekends, fundraising, or having to go to meetings on a regular basis,” he says, adding that with 100 Men, the donors are only committing to four meetings per year and donating $100 each time.
Those interested in joining 100 Men Kawartha Lakes can visit 100menkawarthalakes.ca.
