By Abby Carella, Staff Reporter
By 7 p.m., the upstairs event room at local restaurant 30 Main is filled with over 100 women. By the end of the hour, these women, all of whom are Tredyffrin/Easttown residents, will have donated over $10,000, $100 by each member, to a selected charity, and the newly formed Give T/E organization is to thank.
Give T/E is a new chapter of the 100 Women Who Care organization, which was originally founded in 2006 by Karen Dunigan. About a month ago, a group of local women got together for coffee and began talking about how they wanted to make a difference in the community. Rachel Cramer, Give T/E’s current director of sponsorship, heard about a chapter that was being run in Phoenixville and thought it would be a great idea to start one for T/E.
“It’s been amazing how much the community has jumped in. In such a short amount of time, we got over 100 people to sign up, and we have multiple sponsors and a venue who is willing to host us for free. It has been an incredible outpouring of support,” Co-Executive Director Julie Gosse said.
In order to receive the money, a charity must meet a certain set of criteria. First and foremost, it must be located in or serve the T/E community. It also must have been vetted as a 501(c)3 organization for more than two years and must not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disabilty. Once an organization is approved based on these factors, its name is thrown in a hat. Three organizations are randomly chosen and invited to give a five-minute, “Shark Tank”-style presentation at the Give T/E meeting. Then, all of the women vote, and the winning organization receives all $10,000 (or more, depending on the number of club members).
The special thing about Give T/E (an acronym for 100 Women Gathered to Invest in, Vitalize, and Empower the T/E Community) is that it is completely female-run.
“The reality is that research after research shows that when women unite, they make a difference. When you look across the board at America, over $427 billion are given to charities each year. 69% of the US population gives, and 64% of those givers are women, which is enlightening because we don’t hear that alot,” Director of Events and Member Experience Nina Lotfi said in her opening night speech.
Give T/E hopes to be able to make a big difference with its bi-annual meetings. All organizations presented, regardless of if they win the money, will gain valuable exposure in the community.
Abby Carella can be reached at [email protected].
