The 100+ Harbor Women Who Care will hold their next event on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:15 p.m.) at Elks Lodge 1082 located at 624 K Street in Hoquiam.

Ten women form the core of the 100+ Harbor Women Who Care organization — Maryann Welch, Molly Bold, Martha George, Diana Grigsby, Jessica Hoover, Pat Oleachea, Franzine Potts, Alissa Shay, Dori Unterseher and DonnaJeanne Williams.

Collective donations will be awarded to one of three non-profit organization nominees selected by majority popular vote. Each one of the three nominees, which are a closely guarded secret, will have the opportunity to present what they do and explain why they need funding.

Organizer Maryann Welch says, “At the end of those presentations the women vote for the organization they would like to see get the money. Then everyone puts their $100 (cash or check) in a bag and all of that money goes to that one organization. Everyone is waiting with bated breath for us to count the votes and we come out with a big check. It’s very exciting.”

More than $20,000 was donated to Harbors Home Health & Hospice the night of and in the wake of the March event. Harbors Home Health & Hospice Director of Development David Quigg, Hospice Program Administrator Erin Swint and Medical Social Worker Angie Brown had many of the attendees in tears during their presentation.

“The donation means we can multiply the work we’re doing to support those in the community that are at the end of their lives and need the support and resources they can’t get at home on their own,” Quigg said after the announcement. “The goal of hospice is so people can spend time with their loved ones at the end of their life, not worrying about if rubber gloves were ordered, if they have sheets for a twin bed, those kinds of things. The more we can do and support our patients and their families the better for that relationship right up to the very end. The 50 patients that we’re serving on average a day, the 330 patients a year, it’s a lot of people and a lot of families that need help and we’re so happy to do it.”

100+ Harbor Women Who Care have held seven “giving events” since 2019 with more than 500 women donating nearly $150,000 to Grays Harbor County non-profit organizations. These giving events have seen an average attendance of 135 people.

The local chapter is affiliated with the 100+ Who Care Alliance, a network that consists of more than 650 global chapters including 100 Women Who Care, 100 Men Who Care, 100 Teens Who Care and more. The Alliance, which was founded by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, Michigan, in 2006, holds an annual leadership conference and provides resources for giving circles including best practices and media training.

“(The Alliance) provides information and gives us contact information if we want to talk to other chapters,” Welch said. “We are eligible for a nationwide family foundation. If we get at least $10,000 at an event, they’ll give us $5,000 more, and we’ve been able to do that all but the first time.”

100+ Harbor Women Who Care plan to continue to hold giving events every March and October.