Early History of 100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley
Manuel Erickson
100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley sparked interest in early October 2017. A few months before, my wife, Martha Fraser, attended her first meeting of 100 Women Who Care, and came home aglow with the pleasure she had experienced from this high-energy, committed group. Two hundred and thirteen members each gave $100 to the winning charity. Responding to her enthusiasm, I suggested that the men of this area should also form a group. Why should the women have all the fun?
Martha asked a member from her group to put a message on the 100 Women Facebook page to advertise for a 100 Men Who Care group. Well! It got a lot of response. On Monday, October 16, six of us came together at Tim Horton’s in Duncan. We agreed to form a chapter and to publicize the group. Martha was present as a resource person. The women’s group informed us about an umbrella organization, 100 Who Care Alliance, which offers help to start-up groups, and lists all the chapters that register with them. I asked the Alliance to include our chapter in their extensive listing and we are now listed under “Canada – British Columbia – Men.”
One week later, on Oct. 23, eleven of us met in the board room of Arbutus Ridge and formed the Steering Committee of 100 Men Who Care Cowichan. Three Steering Committee members subsequently met with an executive member of 100 Women Who Care and gathered much useful information to help the development of our group.
We grew from just 6 members to over 40 in a single month. Now there are over 60 who have committed to our organization. This is almost explosive growth. It reflects the high degree of caring we feel toward the less fortunate in our valley. The approximately 100 charities here can certainly use all the help they can get.