Those looking for a convenient and significant means of supporting a range of folks and organizations in Lacombe should check out 'Give, Share, Care Lacombe'.
"We are trying to promote the group, and to get some more people to join," said Dawn Parent, a coordinator with Give, Share, Care Lacombe.
"Our goal is to get 100 women. We meet four times each year and each put in $100. We now have 48 ladies, so we bring in abut $4,800 at each meeting - but if we had 100 people, then in just one hour, we could make $10,000 which we could then contribute to organizations, charities, and individuals in our community that need it."
Give Share Care Lacombe’ was founded several years ago, and the way it works is fairly simple, but it has a tremendous impact. Although based on 100 Women Who Care, there is a key difference. With Give, Share, Care, donations can be made to individuals and families as well - they are not limited only to not-for-profits or charity organizations who can distribute tax receipts.
Individuals (for example) who can't provide tax receipts are still be eligible for the support that ‘Give Share Care Lacombe’ can provide.
"There was three or four of us who were wanting to raise some money for an individual we knew of who had some health issues," said Parent, referring to the beginnings of the group.
"We were trying to think of a way to raise some money. I brought up the idea of 100 Women Who Care, which is what this is fashioned after.
"But with 100 Women Who Care, you have to be able to provide a tax receipt. We wanted to be able to help people who needed the money, but who may not be able to give us those tax receipts. So we came up with the name Give, Share, Care, and we just went with it from there," she said.
Of course, some of the organizations they have supported over the years indeed can and do provide tax receipts. "We just wanted to be able to help whoever needed it."
Members meet four times a year. Since the group was launched in September of 2018, they’ve a total of $109,300 for charities, individuals, families, and non-profit organizations in Lacombe.
"We will sometimes have two or three nominations, but normally, it's about two," she said. "We will have presentations from them, and then we vote, and whoever gets the most votes get the money," she explained.
Meetings take place at the Lacombe Memorial Centre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the meetings usually run for about an hour.
And if you can't make a meeting, that's not a problem. Parent said members can simply send her their money, and information about who they would like to vote for, and it will be taken care of.
Parent said it all boils down to the sheer joy of giving.
"I know how hard it is for some individuals and people who have nowhere else to turn," she said.
"For them, it can be almost impossible to get help unless someone steps up. We once had a lady who was in an abusive relationship, and couldn't get out of it because she had no money to put down a deposit to get a place of her own," Parent recalled.
"We raised enough to give her, so she could put down a deposit and get a place - and give her a few months before she had to raise more funds. Again, people like that sometimes just have nowhere to turn," she said.
"But I think there is a real need for it. And even some of these groups and organizations that we have given to - they always need the support, too. Things like Fill-A-Fridge (through Lacombe FCSS) or Big Brothers Big Sisters - there are all kinds of them."
Others who have benefited from Give, Share Care Lacombe include the Lacombe Food Bank, The Broom Tree Foundation, Santa's Anonymous, Saving Grace Animal Shelter, and ANAM Rural Youth among several others.
Beside the giving component, it's an excellent means of making new friends, too.
"I've met a lot of new people through this," said Parent.
For updates and more information, find them on Facebook at ‘Give Share Care Lacombe’, or call Dawn Parent directly at 403-
