KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
February 28, 2020
By Jennifer Miko
Meet the Katy/Fulshear 100 Women Who Give a Damn tonight at 7p.m. at the Spotlight Acting Academy's Theatre in Villagio Town Center on Westheimer Parkway in Katy. Guests are invited to join their philanthropic lady neighbors who want to make a difference in the community.
Groups of “Women Who Give a Damn” hold meetings throughout the country to make a positive impact in their community. The formula for success: if 100 women attend their meeting, and each woman contributes $100; the selected nonprofit will receive $10,000. Donations are tax deductible.
At tonight’s meeting of the 100 Women Who Give a Damn - Katy/Fulshear, representatives from three area charities will make five-minute presentations about their work and what the group’s contribution would accomplish in their organization.
Generous Women Impact Local Charities
In 2018, Rebecca Earnshaw and Ellie Roque made a presentation on behalf of Clothed by Faith to 100 Women Who Give A Damn in Fort Bend. The pair impressed the group and Clothed by Faith was selected as the recipient of the donations at that meeting ($100 check from each woman present).
Earnshaw and Roque loved the concept of their hosts, and enlisted their friend, Jamie Nevill to form a group of their own. The trio held the first meeting of the 100 Women Who Give a Damn – Katy/Fulshear in March of 2019. That year, the new group held quarterly meetings.
“Each group is independently run without any formal structure – meaning, we ourselves are not a 501c(3), we don’t collect any money or maintain any records,” says Marla Allen. “We just voluntarily contribute our time to organize the events each quarter.”
Selecting Groups to Help
The “Women Who Give a Damn” consider 501c(3) non-profit organizations that serve the Katy/Fulshear area and have been in operation for at least one year. Members and guests do not know the names of the presenting organizations prior to the meeting.
“We have a running list of about 30 nonprofits that are under consideration for upcoming meetings and welcome additional organizations at any time,” says Allen.
2019 recipients of donations from the 100 Women Who Give a Damn - Katy/Fulshear include the Krause Center, Compassion Katy, Child Advocates of Fort Bend and Fort Bend Family Promise. Last year, this group gifted almost $7,000 and hopes to double that amount in 2020.
“All we ask in exchange is that the nonprofit lists us in their annual gala/dinner program as a sponsor based on the amount they received. If that amount earns a table, that we be offered the seats to fill with ladies from our '100 Women' group,” says Allen.
“I decided to join the group because I wanted to be able to support a local charity and get involved in my own community,” says Shelley Wenzel. “I wanted to learn more about what our needs are in the Katy/Fulshear area and to become more educated about what is going on in my own backyard. It was also an appealing concept to be in a group of women giving back.”
To learn more about the 100 Women Who Give a Damn - Katy/Fulshear, visit their Facebook page here.