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100 Women Who Care Caledon reaches milestone of raising over $200,000 for community

December 11, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

100 Women Who Care Caledon (100WWCC)  has been meeting since 2017, and since then has made 32 donations to local charities serving the Caledon community, amassing over $200,000 – a milestone the organization recently celebrated.

The 100 Women Who Care motto is “1 Hour, $100 + 100 Women = A Powerful Impact.”  Each quarterly meeting is only an hour long, each member donates $100, and, as a group, they select a charity of their choice for the quarter to which they donate, resulting in a significant impact.

The first 100 Women Who Care chapter was founded in 2006 in Michigan by Karen Dunigan, who raised over $10,000 for cribs for a charity combating a high infant mortality rate.

The concept came to Canada in 2012, and there are now more than 700 100 Who Care women, men, people, kids and business chapters around the world.

Karen McDonald, co-founding member and Chair of 100WWCC, has been with the Caledon chapter since it began in February of 2017. She says 100WWCC Founder Michele Newton attended a WhoCare meeting at another location and thought it would be a “wonderful thing to have in our community.”

For each Caledon meeting, McDonald explains, members nominate a charity that serves Caledon.

“100% of our donations have gone directly to Caledon programs and to the people of Caledon.”

During their meetings, three nominated charities make a five-minute presentation, and afterward, the group votes on which charity will receive the donation.

Often, McDonald notes, after learning about the charities and their work, members often donate to multiple charities, even when they’re not chosen as the recipient of that quarterly meeting.

“We learn so much about our community just by attending the meetings and hearing what’s going on and what sorts of programs. It is a really wonderful way to get in contact with what is out there in our community that you may not necessarily even know.”

McDonald shares that in each meeting they raise around $6,500.

At each of their meetings, there is a presentation by the previous recipient of their donation, during which members have the opportunity to hear how the charity used their donation.

“We have some members that have been with us since Day One and every member, whether they’ve been with us for a year, or they’ve been with us for seven years, every member has made a difference, has brought us forward and helped the community.”

“We’re just grateful for any members, past or present and future,” says McDonald.

Members can join the group individually or as a team. Instead of donating $100 every time 100WWCC meets, in a group of four, for example, each person is responsible for one donation per year.

100WWCC also aims to make its meetings accessible in various ways, including moving its meeting locations throughout Caledon.

She shares that one of their locations, the Caledon Ski Club, has been a supporter since the beginning, and it is where they hold their September meetings.

“For the first four years, we went there exclusively. But then we discovered, it’s really tough for people in Bolton to make their way all the way over toward Belfountain, so we moved our meetings,” explains McDonald. “We have one in the east, one in the west, and two central, so that it makes it more accessible for members to attend the meetings.”

Over the years, 100WWCC, a 100% volunteer organization, has donated to numerous local charities, including Caledon Meals on Wheels, Special Olympics Caledon, the Milo Foundation, and more.

As 100WWCC looks ahead to future years and celebrates more milestones, they look forward to welcoming new members and continuing to support the Caledon community.

“We’re just going to keep marching on and continue to raise money for charities. Hopefully we’ll get to $300,000 and, beyond that, we’re just going to continue doing what we’re doing,” says McDonald.

“The impact can be a complete windfall for the charity. They don’t necessarily know that this is coming, and when they get it, it’s a wonderful opportunity for them to sort of pivot with their budgets as well. We all just want to make our community the best it can be.”

Their next meeting will be held on February 27, 2026, when their most recent recipient, Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, will present on the impact of 100WWCC’s donation.

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