A BIT OF OUR HISTORY
A Brilliant Idea
100 Women Who Care was started in November of 2006, by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, Michigan and a need for baby cribs. Karen reached out to 100 women, mainly acquaintances of hers, and at their first one-hour meeting each wrote a check for $100 directly to the charity, raising $12,800 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city. Since then, this first chapter has grown to over 200 members. She conceived this brilliantly simple way to raise money quickly and efficiently for local organizations whose purpose is to better the lives of their community.
Sadly, Karen Dunigan passed away on April 15, 2014 after a battle with cancer. Karen saw people for their strengths and realized when 100 or more people come together, each person becomes a stronger force for doing good work while lifting up their community. We are each strong in our own right, but together we are stronger. Karen knew this, applauded it and was so very proud of 100+ Women Who Care.
There are currently more than 650 chapters either fully operational or under development; they include women, men, people and kids chapters.
Visit: 100whocarealliance.org to learn more.
Our Story
Beth Imes and Jamie Davidson were visiting in Central New York and found themselves having lunch with two nuns who run a free health clinic. The nuns were ecstatic recipients of a recent $10,000 Impact Award to help fund their clinic. The more Beth and Jamie learned about 100 Women Who Care the more intrigued they became. The simplicity seemed too good to be true. People coming together to give support to local community organizations could only lend itself to endless positive possibilities. Every now and again the two would talk about 100 WWC. Three years passed. In January of 2019 they decided to stop just talking about it and said, “Let’s do it!” Close to 100 women showed up for the kickoff in mid-April to learn about 100 Women Who Care and join. Membership has continued to grow in number and enthusiasm. The 10-member KISS (Keep It Simple Sister) Committee meets regularly to discuss issues that arise and orchestrates meetings.
KISS
Committee
Alison Alexander
Suzanne Bean
Marlies Bearden
Karen Clay
Jamie Davidson
Evans Dawson
Leah Ellis
Beth Imes
Lois Kappler