‘Brilliantly simple’ 100 Women Who Care fundraiser returns to Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fuelled by the power of collective giving, a popular charity event returns for its 11th edition this fall.

The 11th 100 Women Who Care Fort St. John will take place on Tuesday, September 23rd at the Lido theatre.

The 100 Women Who Care movement began back in 2006 by a Michigan woman named Karen Dunigan as a “brilliantly simple” way to raise money for local non-profits in her area.

The first event was organized in the North Peace in 2017. With Covid cancelling events for three years, the event began again in 2023.

Since its inception locally, the events have raised a total of $178,030.

The gathering’s concept is simple: 100 women who show up on the evening pay $100 for a ticket, so the group raises a minimum of $10,000 for one of three local charities.

While charities have been finalized for September 23rd at the Lido theatre, they will not be revealed until that night, said event committee member Estefania Albornoz.

“This year, we’re doing a twist because we don’t want to reveal who they are,” said Albornoz. “People nominate charities or nonprofits. They don’t have to be specifically a charity.

“The reason why we don’t want to reveal who they are is because we don’t want people to become biased, maybe just thinking that they’re going to vote for a specific non-profit.”

Each nominated organization will then have seven minutes on stage to tell its history and how it would use the funds, with the audience casting votes to see where the money will go.

Previous winners have included the North Peace Gymnastics Association and the Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society, which received $12,400 at the group’s last event in March.

Additionally, Albornoz says the evening can be a night of networking and community building.  

The entire event, she adds, is run by volunteers with the North Peace Community Foundation conducting roles including managing ticket sales, issuing tax receipts and handling administrative tasks, and the Lido donates its space for the event. 

For unsuccessful non-profits, the event can still be a transformative one, said Albornoz.

“If a local group does not win that night, they get really good exposure,” said Albornoz. “North Peace Pregnancy Care Centre, during the last edition, they didn’t win. They requested money to change the doors of their building of their offices.

“After that night, someone reached out to them and said, ‘hey, we want to support you.’ They ended up getting the doors they were requesting. So it’s a really good moment to show what they’re doing for the community.”

The 11th edition of Fort St. John 100 Women Who Care will take place at the Lido theatre on Tuesday, September 23rd at 7 p.m.

The event is open to local women only. To purchase tickets, visit the event’s website.