Inclusion Foothills gets a boost from 100 Women Who Care

Inclusion Foothills is the recipient of the latest 100 Women Who Care donation.

Every three months, the members of 100 Women Who Care Foothills meet to nominate and vote on an organization to receive a donation. Members contribute $100 each to the donation, which is then presented to the chosen organization.

This donation amounted to $10,700.

Inclusion Foothills' Executive Director Orvella Small explains how the organization has been supporting families for 25 years.

"Across the Foothills we're serving almost 1,300 families, right around 3,700 individuals if you break that down. We're serving families in the way that we advocate for them to ensure that their family members, be it a child or an adult, has the services they need. That could be school, medical, PDD, FSED, AISH, any of those things. We serve families and individuals to ensure they have what they need to have an inclusive life. Even better is employment, helping to make sure they have what they need to be contributing back the way they want to be to the community."

This is the third donation Inclusiuon has received from 100 Women. The first was $4,400 in 2017 (Inclusion Foothills was known as Foothills SNAPS at the time) and then again in 2020 when they received $8,925.

Small says this money can go a long way, and can secure them further grant money.

"What can happen with the donation that comes to us is we can write a grant that we can use those dollars to match, so that $10,700 becomes $21,400 that can be put toward a project or program for the families we serve."

Pat McDonald, the 100 Women member who nominated Inclusion Foothills, has firsthand experience with the support the organization provides.

"They've helped our family and our daughter... They've helped us through everything. When she was a child, they helped her get the support she needed in the classroom. As an adult, they helped her to be ready to move into adulthood. She went to university for a year and lived in residence with some support. She then had support workers who helped her get a job. She has a wonderful life because of the supports they have provided for her."

McDonald joined Inclusion Foothills after her retirement and is now a board member with them.

She became a 100 Women member after a recommendation from Small.

"What I like about it is it helps people in our community. Quite often when you give money to things you don't know where that money is going. When we give money to 100 Women Who Care we know exactly what it's being used for, it's being used to help the people in our community."

President of 100 Women Who Care Foothills, Julie Hodge, says that's a big draw for many of their members.

"Every single cent of every donation made by every woman goes toward that cheque donation. There's no holdback for admin costs or anything. This is 100 per cent donations, so they see the entire fund. We're always looking for new women." 

She's excited to see the group's continued growth.

"I'd love to make it 200 Women Who Care, 500 Women Who Care. Especially in this day and age, it's just such a fantastic way to make $100 four times a year add up to tens of thousand of dollars for our local charities and non-profits. It's a huge impact."

More information on Inclusion Foothills can be found on their website.

More information on 100 Women Who Care Foothills, including their donation history since 2015 and membership info, can be found on their website.

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