Recently, a handful of women in the White Lake area decided they wanted to foster large, positive change in their community with minimal time commitment. Luckily for them, they didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. When Deana Fox told coworkers Peggy Anderson and Sharon Blankenship about Women Who Care – which has groups in Muskegon and Oceana county - they decided to create their own group that focused on the White Lake area. Thus, White Lake Area Women was created.
Although not affiliated with Women Who Care, White Lake Area Women follow the same formula to raise massive amounts of money for local non-profits with limited effort from members. Members of White Lake Area Women pledge to contribute $400 annually ($100 quarterly) to a non-profit serving the White Lake area. Members will meet four times a year for an hour each time. At each meeting, three members have the opportunity to give a 5-minute pitch about a local non-profit they believe deserves funding. After these presentations, members vote for their preferred organization. The organization with the most votes will be the recipient of the funds for that quarter. Then, each member writes a $100 check to the chosen organization.
So, let’s do some math! If you have 10 members, you can raise $1,000 in one hour. If you have 25 members, $2,500. If you have 60, $6,000. Little effort, BIG impact. And lucky for us, at their inaugural meeting on January 21st, White Lake Area Women chose the Arts Council of White Lake – Nuveen Center as their first recipient. On Thursday, February 22nd, representatives from White Lake Area Women presented a $6,600 check to the Arts Council of White Lake – Nuveen Center Endowment Fund. These funds will be integral as we continue to inspire the White Lake area through accessible and engaging opportunities in the arts.
If you’re curious about White Lake Area Women and would like to learn more, you can find their group on Facebook by searching ‘White Lake Area Women’. If you’re interested in joining the group, email Sharon Blankenship at sp74gto@aol.com and request a registration form. Without a doubt, if you’d like to make a big impact on your community without making a huge time commitment, this is the group for you.