100 Women Peterborough has chosen the Kawartha Youth Orchestra (KYO) to receive a donation of more than $10,000 that will support the charity’s free after-school music program for elementary school children called Upbeat!
The collective philanthropy group held its third meeting of 2025 on September 16 in the lobby of the Venture North building in downtown Peterborough. At each of the group’s quarterly meetings, members hears presentations from three non-profit organizations randomly drawn from a larger list of organizations nominated by the group’s members. Each member commits to donating $100, and the organization that gets the most member votes receives the collective donations.
The three organizations that presented to 100 Women Peterborough at September’s meeting were Cuddles for Cancer, Public Energy Performing Arts, and KYO, with the latter chosen by majority vote to receive member donations.
Running on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the school year at the KYO’s new home at the New Canadians Centre (St. James United Church) in downtown Peterborough, Upbeat! provides students in grades 3 to 8 with free string music lessons taught by professional musicians. Students also get free violin, viola, or cello loans through the KYO and no music experience is required.
The KYO’s winning pitch was presented by board vice chair Joy Simmonds and community engagement committee volunteer John Good and, according to a media release from 100 Women Peterborough, “was presented with joy, passion, and hope.”
“Music supports learning in so many ways: building self-worth and confidence, developing attention, focus, and listening skills, fostering teamwork and a sense of belonging, a love for music and, most of all, fun,” Simmonds said. “Upbeat! is a social program focused on the whole child, overcoming barriers, building hope, and changing the future of our community … please help us stay Upbeat!”
The KYO launched Upbeat! in 2021 running three days per week with the help of a three-year Ontario Trillium Foundation grant that ended in June 2024. Since then, the KYO has relied on some smaller grants, in particular from the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, as well as community donations to continue to fund the program.
The donation from 100 Women Peterborough will help provide funding stability for Upbeat!
“Supporting the Kawartha Youth Orchestra and their Upbeat! program means we’re not just funding music education, we’re helping children build confidence, community, and a brighter future,” said Alyssa Stewart, founding member of 100 Women Peterborough. “That’s the heart of what 100 Women Peterborough is all about.”
Since its formation in 2018, 100 Women Peterborough has collectively donated over $250,000 to 27 local organizations.
Organizations that have received member donations include YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, Vinnies Peterborough, Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Youth Unlimited, One Roof Warming Room, New Canadians Centre, Cameron House, Five Counties Children’s Centre, Casa De Angelae, Lakefield Animal Welfare Society, Community Care Peterborough, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Community Counselling and Resource Centre, Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services, Heads Up for Inclusion, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, Peterborough GreenUP, Bridges Peterborough, YMCA Strong Communities, Homeward Bound Peterborough, Good Neighbours Care Centre and Food Bank, PARN – Your Community AIDS Resource Network, Camp Kawartha, the Teachers For Kids Foundation, Hearts 4 Joy, Camp Northern Lights, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough.
100 Women Peterborough is part of a growing collective philanthropy movement that began in the United States in November 2006, when Karen Dunigan of Michigan formed the “100 Women Who Care” group. After their first meeting, those women raised over $10,000 for the purchase of 300 new baby cribs for a local organization. The movement has grown over the past 18 years to include groups of men, women, youth, and children around the world, with hundreds of chapters in Canada alone.
For more information about 100 Women Peterborough, visit www.100womenptbo.ca.
