MONTEREY, Calif.- Central Coast News believes to build a stronger community, you must invest in it. That's why we've created the One Million Dollar Community Investment campaign. We spoke with one group who is sharing that same belief, by helping one organization in need four times a year.
What do you get when two women on the Central Coast decide they want to make a tangible impact on the community? Well in this case, thousands of dollars worth of donations directly benefiting many different types of organizations.
"We did it because we found that there was a need for something in our own lives to reach out and help others as school teachers," said co-creator Ingrid Hermann-Del Valle.
100 Women Who Care on the Central Coast, started about three years with only six women in the giving circle. But that's grown to about 65 members, making them more than half way to reaching their goal of hitting 100.
"Every time a new person walks into the Masonic Hall and is excited to join or just even wants to hang out and just watch the meeting and see what it's about, they usually end up joining afterwards," said co-creator Whitney Meyer.
The group meets four times a year where each person donates $100 dollars. Every woman drops the name of an organization into a fish bowl, they draw three and vote on a final winner.
"They're writing it to the SPCA, they're writing it to the Monterey County Food Bank and they know that that's exactly where that check is going to go," Hermann-Del Valle said.
Last year they were able to give $17,000 dollars total to four organizations. This year, they're shooting for $50,000 dollars.
"Our meetings have gotten bigger. They're actually becoming really great because we're getting to see the women over and over again and they're like a little family to us," Hermann-Del Valle said.
100 Women Who Care on the Central Coast are having their first meeting of the year in Monterey at the Masonic Center next Wednesday.
