History

100 Women Who Care of the Northeast (100WWC-NE) was started by sisters Beth Purdy and Cheryl Hahn, and friends Jeanne Rizzo and Lori O’Neil in the fall of 2019. Beth and Cheryl learned of the concept from their aunt, Patricia Beck, who is one of the founding members of the 100WWC Adirondack Foothills Chapter in NY. They were inspired by the idea that a group of individual women could come together, quickly raise money, and have a tremendous financial impact on charities in their local communities. With the support and guidance of the Adirondack Foothills and Albany chapters, the vision of supporting charities in Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties became a reality.

100WWC was started by Karen Dunigan in Jackson, Michigan in 2006. During a meeting with executive leadership from the Center for Family Health, Karen learned that there was a need for portable cribs for new mothers who were not able to afford them in her community. She came up with the idea that if she could find 100 women to donate $100, the financial need could quickly be met. During a meeting lasting just one hour, Karen managed to raise $12,800 in donations. She quickly realized that she was on to something special and began holding quarterly meetings to raise money for other charitable organizations in her community. The idea took off, and according to the 100 Who Care Alliance, there are more than 900 chapters of women, men, children working together to make a difference in their local communities.

The meetings are held quarterly on the first Wednesday of February, May, August, and November. Meetings are now being held in a hybrid format; via Zoom and in person alternating between our Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls locations.  The Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church is located at 175 5th Ave. Saratoga Springs, New York.  The Glens Falls First Presbyterian Church is located at 8 West Notre Dame Street. We welcome all women from the community to join us on this giving journey!

Special thanks go out to 100 WWC Albany and Adirondack Foothills chapters for all their support and guidance and turning this dream into reality for Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties!  We also thank our gracious hosts Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church and Glens Falls First Presbyterian Church for generously donating their beautiful spaces for us to meet.