A new chapter of 100 Kids Who Care has recently started in Estevan, and the organization held their first meeting on Oct. 3.
The organization was created as a way to teach youths to be charitable, and show them they have a voice and can make an impact on their community.
Roughly 20 children were in attendance at the meeting, with attendance being hindered due to poor weather. But the group already boasts more than 60 members in the community, and co-organizer Mandy Irwin said that the group would continue to expand and grow in the future.
“We had a great event. The kids came excited to donate their money,” said Irwin.
“We had three youth speakers, and we decided on who to donate the kids’ money to. In the end after they all put their votes to it, it was decided that the Estevan Humane Society would be receiving a donation next week.”
The youth involved with the organization are responsible for selecting local organizations to donate to, and are encouraged to select causes they believe are worth supporting with their own funds.
According to Irwin, Affinity Credit Union was selected to host the organization’s first meeting because they had generously donated money to help the group establish itself.
“They very generously donated $1,000 to help us get things going. Obviously every dollar the children bring in to the organization we want to donate back out to charities,” said Irwin.
“So it took a bit of money to get our initial costs kind of paid so that we can make the children’s money really count.
Although the first meeting was held on Wednesday, Irwin noted that the meetings will rotate days, in an attempt to select which days will work the most proficiently for group members.
Members are required to gather four times per year, and the youths involved decide which local organizations to donate their money too.
“The kids all came in and got registered and donated their money,” said Irwin.
“Then we had some youth speakers talk to the group and kind of did their thing. Then we chose between The Humane Society, The Estevan Food Bank and the Estevan chapter of Habitat for Humanity.”
Irwin noted that the group has already created a website where anyone interested in learning more about the club can visit at www.100kidsestevan.com.
She also added that the best way for anyone interested in becoming a part of the club is to contact herself or another adult member on their social media channels.
“I just know that my kids in particular, and I’m assuming in other families, these kids really don’t, what I would call need, anything,” said Irwin.
“A lot of these kids already have everything they could want, so we just wanted to teach them a difference between a want and a need, and show them they can really do something amazing with their money.”
