More than $13,000 was raised by a charitable women's group last week.
At the fourth meeting of Mid-Island 100 Women Who Care, group members voted to donate $13,700 to Haven Society, an organization that provides shelter and support to victims of domestic violence.
"Our organization is made up of women from several different communities and all of these places benefit from Haven Society's services," said Leanne Kelly, chairwoman of 100 Women Who Care.
Mid-Island 100 Women Who Care is a not-for-profit organization that makes a quarterly donation to a registered charity based in Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Lantzville, Gabriola or a community in between. Members meet four times a year for one hour and raise more than $10,000 for a charity.
Since the first meeting June 8, 2016, more than $48,000 has been raised for local registered charities.
"This gift will assist us in providing the support and services our clients deserve. It was a perfect ending to International Women's Dy and a fitting 'Be Bold for Change' statement," said Anne Taylor, executive director of Haven Society.
Members nominate charities to be considered for a donation. At each meeting, three charity nomination forms are drawn from a basket and members who submitted the forms each make a five-minute presentation about their charity. After the presentation, members vote by secret ballot for one of the three charities. Before leaving the meeting, all members write a $100 cheque to the charity that received the most votes.
The group currently has 140 members and recruitment is ongoing. For more information, please visit www.100womenwhocaremidisland.com.