RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX News) — It’s simple math. If 100 people each put $100 together, that makes for one large $10,000 sum. That’s the goal for two growing groups in Madison County who want to make quarterly contributions to nonprofits in the area.
“Personally as a nurse, I feel like taking care of people is something that we have to do,” said Anthony Looney, a founding member of 100 Men of Madison County. “The goal is to reach 100 members. With 100 members we would have a power of $10,000. We meet quarterly. We nominate whichever nonprofits that we want to vote on, and then we vote on a single nonprofit to receive that quarter's funds."
The men’s group is well short of that 100 number. A group of 12 men met for the first-ever quarterly meeting on July 1. Still, the hope is that the group will balloon up to triple digits and be a blessing to nonprofits around the county.
Another group, the 100 Women of the 40475 That Care, have the same goal, and have already been meeting to make a difference. With more than 50 members, the women met earlier this year and selected the Madison County Haven of Hope as their donation recipient, giving more than $5,000 to the only homeless shelter in the county.
“The way that we keep this building running, operating, the lights on, the water bill paid is just through our caring community,” said Monica Barnes, founder and executive director of the Haven of Hope.
Individual donations are important to organizations like the Haven of Hope, but when people pool their resources in one large gift, the immediate impact can be much greater.
“It's only $100 per quarter, so $400 per year,” shared Stephen Delaney, another founding member. “If I only do that it's not really going to go that far, but if 100 of us get together that can really have a much bigger impact.”
“A larger group of small donations are wonderful, and they're always accepted and they're always appreciated,” Barnes explained. “$20 you know, that buys things, but $5,000 can buy a whole lot more. You can pay rent with $5,000. You can pay more bills the bigger the donation is.”
At the first 100 Men of Madison County meeting, the men also chose to give their first donation to Haven of Hope.
“We have to step up and take care of our community,” Delaney said.
The next quarterly meeting for the men is on October 1.
“My call to action to the men here in Madison County is, we can be masculine, we can be providers, but we can also be kind and charitable,” Looney said. “We have a diligence to our community to participate and to help people.”
Both the 100 Men and the 100 Women groups are growing, with the goal to get to – and surpass – 100 members each. You can learn more about their meetings and mission at their individual Facebook pages linked below.
100 Women Of The 40475 That Care
Caleb Barnes is committed to covering stories in your community that matter to you. If you have an idea, reach out to him at caleb.barnes@wlex.tv
