100 Women fund three groups in region

MORRISBURG — Since 2015, 100 Women Who Care About South Dundas has been raising money for community projects through a simple formula – $100, one hour of your time, and one vote. This year’s 100 Women gathering saw three groups selected to receive all, or most, of the funding they were looking for.

“It all adds up to a lot of good things going on because of all the good people who support us at these events,” said group member and master of ceremonies Janeen Wagemans.

Three groups, the Earl Baker Park Multi-Use Sports Pad, Seaway District High School’s parent council, and the WDMH Foundation will share in nearly $14,000 raised by the June 2 event.

A $5,000 ask from the Earl Baker Park Multi-Use Sports Pad project was the top vote getter for the evening. Cole Veinotte told donors that the project, which has been fundraising for nearly two years now, is nearing the start of construction of the main concrete pad to be used at the park.

“You can get a lot of recreation packed into one piece of infrastructure. It’s pickleball in the summer; it’s ice hockey in the winter; it’s basketball; it’s volleyball; it’s anything you can dream up on a concrete pad,” he said, confirming the group has raised about $60,000 so far. “With being so close, and with in-kind, and a couple more donations we think we have a really good shot of having at least the concrete pad started this fall.”

Finishing second was the Seaway District High School parent council, which was looking for $3,850 to purchase new basketball uniforms for its boys and girls Grade 9-12 teams.

Student Council representative Aiden Adams spoke of how sports uniforms help bridge the equity gap for students and build community.

“When our students put on matching jerseys, they are not rich or poor, they are teammates. Uniforms remove the visual markers of status and ensures that every player feels seen and valued for their efforts — not their attire,” he said. “For many of our youth, wearing a jersey with our school’s name and colours is their first experience of being part of something bigger than themselves. Looking like a team helps players act like a team.”

The WDMH Foundation was third in the balloting, and received $4,000 of its $5,000 ask for funds towards the purchase of a new Pigg-O-Stat paediatric immobilizer device to assist with diagnostic imaging. The device is a specialized chair which holds a child seated to allow for easier X-Rays and other imaging. This reduces movement during imaging, enabling these procedures to be completed on the first try.

WDMHF Executive Director Cindy Ault Peters started her presentation with a question, “How many of you have tried to get a toddler to stay still for even 10 seconds? Now imagine asking a sick, scared child to do just that for an x-ray.

Peters explained the device does that safely, and that the current chair at the Winchester and District Memorial Hospital is from the 1970s, and needs to be replaced. If fully funded, Peters said the order for the new chair would be made that evening.

While the voters were being counted, this year’s donors received updates from last year’s awardees, the House of Lazarus and the Morrisburg Waterfront Committee’s solar cross walk.

Kristina McDermott with the HoL told attendees of how the $5,000 the community hub and warming centre made a difference. The hub purchased a second laundry set for the Morrisburg hub.

“I can honestly say it made an incredible difference in the lives of the people we serve,” she said. “What may seem like a simple appliance has become something much bigger.”

Originally planned to serve 30 individuals, McDermott said the hub supported 41 instead. She said the goal of 150 visits to the warming centre over the year was exceeded by nearly 800 visits, highlighting the growing need in the community.

Solar crosswalk project spokesperson Michael Burton told the audience that the cost ballooned for the crosswalk lights across Cruickshank Way in Morrisburg, connecting the splash pad and playground with the ball diamonds, and it is now just getting under construction.

“The crosswalk went over $20,000, so we had to find other funding, and the Municipality of South Dundas stepped up,” he said. Concrete forms for the base of the new crosswalk signals were installed the Monday proceeding the 100 Women event.

Applications opened earlier in the spring with seven groups presenting at the event, held at Stone Crop Acres winery. Each group had three minutes to present, and were allowed to seek up to $10,000 in donations. One of the benefits of the 100 Women events is informing the community of need in the community. While some groups were unsuccessful in receiving funding at this event, often potential donors first learn of fundraising through 100 Women.

Projects unsuccessful this year included:

• Dundas County Hospice – The DCH sought nearly $6,000 to pay for an outdoor patio area around the shed used for its “Men’s Shed” grief program.
• Historical Society of South Dundas – This group sought $10,000 towards its basement foundation restoration project for this year.
• St. Mary-St. Cecilia Catholic School parent council – This group sought $5,000 to buy and replace sports team uniforms, additional outdoor yard equipment, and equipment for a new sensory room at the school.
• Timothy Christian School – The private school administration presented an ask of between $2-2,500 to purchase new musical instruments for its Kindergarten-Grade 8 music programs.

Since its inception in 2015, donors through the 100 Women Who Care About South Dundas have raised $144,950 for the community. That amount does not include its ask in 2020 for donors to give money to the Upper Canada Playhouse during its shutdown.