HARLINGEN — A large group of women gathered Tuesday night to make a big decision.
They had to vote on which charitable organization to give money to.
The new organization, 100 Women Who Give a Damn, brings women together four times a year to donate to a worthy cause. Tuesday night, 58 women came together to award the Culture of Life Ministries an $8,750 donation.
Resident Carly Thomas had first heard about the 100 Women organization online.
After doing initial research and talking to her friends, she decided to open a chapter in Harlingen to help small, local charities.
The idea of the organization is to bring at least 100 women together and make a quarterly donation of $100.
The women listen to presentations by three local charities and organizations and then vote on whom to award the $10,000 donation.
“It’s the basic concept of everyone coming together to make a small donation that turns into a big donation for the good of the community,” Thomas said.
Thomas and a group of three other women took control of the organization and started a closed Facebook group that now has more than 300 members.
According to Thomas, 58 women were in attendance during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Thomas also received 30 checks from women who were unable to make the meeting.
“There was a lot of positive energy at the meeting,” Thomas said.
The women heard presentations from three local organizations including YoungLife, Culture of Life Ministries and the Harlingen Neighborhood Food Pantry before awarding the money to Culture of Life Ministries.
Thomas said the set up of the meetings is created to make giving back as simple as possible.
“It’s easy,” Thomas said. “You walk in. You listen. You write a check.”
Prior to the meeting, a group of 20 women met to nominate organizations they deemed worthy of donating to.
Thomas said there are only three criteria that all organizations must meet to be nominated.
In order to be eligible for the donation, organizations must be a registered charity, have a local impact and have been in existence for at least one year.
It is an organization dedicated to helping fund local organizations. Women join and pledge to donate at least $400 a year. Four meetings are held a year where all the women gather to decide on a charity to donate the money to.
If you’re interested in joining, email [email protected]
