Children’s Listening Place receives $4,325 donation
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PARKERSBURG -- The Children's Listening Place (CLP) Child Advocacy Center recently received a gift of $4,325 from a new force of philanthropy in the Mid-Ohio Valley, the 100+ Women Who Care in the MOV.
The group was founded in 2021 by Jessica Huffman, Danielle Allphin, Angie Reich and Megan Thieman.
"We are so proud of the work The Children's Listening Place does,'' said founding member Huffman. ''They were very deserving of the donations and beyond monetary impact, we hope the event created more awareness about their organization and the heroic work they do every day.''
During the group's inaugural meeting held at the Parkersburg Country Club, three non-profit organizations were selected to speak about what they do.
The groups included Kim Couch of the Camden Clark Foundation: Pink Mammogram Fund, Greg Collins of The Children's Listening Place Child Advocacy Center and Brandon Gress of The Wood County Society.
At the end of the presentations, the members of the group voted and selected The Children's Listening Place as the benefactor of the donations.
"To speak in front of this powerful group of women who care so much about this valley was truly inspiring," said Collins, Executive Director of the CLP. "To be the first organization selected by this group was humbling.
"To receive the money was fantastic, but the real reward was the recognition of what we do for kids, the networking of that evening, and the calls and emails that have come since that night of people wanting to donate to us."
He said it was amazing to be on the same stage as Couch and Gress and to hear what other non-profits do to help the community.
"Non-profits are problem solvers, it's just that simple," Collins said.
100+ Women Who Care was initially formed in November 2006 by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, Mich., where the group raised $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city. Chapters have been forming all over North America.
"Our organization allows busy women the opportunity to spend just one hour learning about the direct impact of three non-profit organizations in our community and the invaluable role they play in our community's wellbeing," Huffman said. "When our group of women meets to donate together, the collective philanthropy makes a big difference to the winning organization and the people they serve.
"All the money stays local, which was a really important factor to us. Our founding board members were all born and raised in this community, and we deeply care about the future success of the people in the Mid-Ohio Valley."
The 100+ Women Who Care in the MOV hopes to grow its membership to over 100 women. Each member agrees to donate $100 quarterly for a total of $400 per year, meaning the donation each quarter would be $10,000 or more. 100+ Women Who Care in the MOV does not handle any of the funds or does not retain a percentage. All proceeds go directly to a charity via checks made out directly to the winning charity(s).
Each quarterly meeting is only one hour long, with presentation of non-profits being 10 minutes.
"As a busy professional woman in the workforce and mom of six, I have felt a yearning toward wanting to do more for our community but had trouble finding the time to volunteer or join a local non-profit board," Huffman said. "Sending money from what I could afford alone didn't seem like it would make a difference.
"I am delighted to have formed this new group and so thankful for the volunteer board that made our first event a success."
For more information about the 100+ Women Who Care in the MOV, check the website at 100womenmov.com or contact Huffman at 100womenmov@gmail.com, or by calling 304-615-4506.
To donate to The Children's Listening Place Child Advocacy Center, call 304-917-4437 or email the Executive Director at gregcollins@childrenslisteningplace.com.