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Community Corner

100+ Women Put Fundraising in Gear, Raise $15,300 for City Mission

The women vote among three possible charity causes and choose one to receive the proceeds from the quarterly fundraising event.

Dru Szcerba looked out to a crowd of some 100 women and saw halos and wings galore.

“All I know is that I’m seeing a lot of angels out there,” Szcerba said, bringing tears to the eyes of many who attended the recent “100-Plus Women Who Care Motown” fundraising event, held May 8 at George Matick Chevrolet in Redford Township.

Szcerba is the executive director of the , a daytime safe haven for the homeless located in the Unity Church in Royal Oak. She and her board members recently , thanks to the “100-Plus Women” group. On this recent evening, Szcerba attended the group’s spring gathering to simply give thanks.

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Members of the new “100-Plus Women” non-profit group, which has a decidedly game-show-type twist when it comes to raising funds, noshed on goodies and sipped wine from Plum Market while catching up, networking and, of course, taking in the shiny, bright scenery — a showroom packed with gleaming Corvettes, SUVs, Volts, and snappy little Sonics. It’s Michigan’s largest indoor new-car showroom.

Among the women was Northville resident Brenda McMahon, a director for a global human resources consulting firm called Towers Watson, as well as women from Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Rochester, and Bloomfield Hills.

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In less than an hour, three women’s names and the names of their chosen charities were pulled from the proverbial hat at this savvy fundraising event. The selected women each got five minutes to talk about their charity of choice. Attendees voted for their favorite charity and all proceeds from the evening went to that organization.  

U.S. Army attorney Wendy Saigh of Grosse Pointe Woods shared that she was going to promote the “Best Friends Are Books" foundation, if her name was chosen. The book organization provides books to needy children and their young mothers. Founded in Grosse Pointe, the group works with organizations throughout metro Detroit. “Hopefully, my name will be drawn,” said Saigh. “And yes, it’s tempting to shop for cars while we’re here,” she laughed. “I had no idea Matick was this big.”

And the First Drum Roll, Please …

The three women and charities selected from the dozens of nominees were: Alternatives for Girls, submitted by Janet McAuliffe of Beverly Hills; Generation of Promise, submitted by Claudia Malone, a Birmingham resident who's on the Board of Education for the Birmingham School District; and City Mission, submitted by Gail Haffey of Beverly Hills.

McAuliffe spent her five minutes talking about Alternatives for Girls, a Detroit-based prevention, shelter, mentoring and outreach program for girls. It was launched in 1985 when a group of southwest Detroit residents, clergy and business people began to share concerns about the alarming increase in drug use, homelessness, prostitution and street activity among girls and young women.

Claudia Malone addressed the needs of Detroit-based Generation of Promise, which invites high school juniors on a yearlong journey to learn about connecting racial, religious, socio/economic, and neighborhood comfort zones through personal, cross-cultural networking and relationship building. She spoke of one former student who returned after college graduation to live and work in the area based on his experience through Generation of Promise.

“He came back here to live and work because of the effect this program had on him,” said Malone. And with so many of today’s successful youth leaving the Detroit area to work elsewhere — a real problem — it’s decisions like that we need to see more of, she added. 

Dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty in Brightmoor (a four-square-mile Detroit neighborhood) by meeting the educational, physical and spiritual needs of children through mentoring relationships and outreach programs, the story behind City Mission touched many at the event.

“A good education is essential,” said attendee Ellen Zimmermann, a financial planner from Bloomfield Hills, after hearing her daughter-in-law, Sarah Zimmermann, also of Bloomfield Hills, pitch the City Mission cause during her five-minute allotment. (Zimmermann was asked by friend Gail Haffey to pitch the cause on her behalf, as Zimmermann is very knowledgeable about City Mission.) In City Mission’s school, more than 80 percent of the children come from a fatherless home.   

Following the pitches, the women quickly voted.

“I voted for City Mission,” said Brenda McMahon.

“I felt that all three charities were very worthy causes," added McMahon, a Northville resident. "However, City Mission struck a chord for me because my husband grew up in a town near Brightmoor where City Mission is located, and I remember his stories from growing up. He would occasionally accompany friends who delivered pizzas in the neighborhood because it wasn’t safe for them to go it alone. When I heard City Mission’s purpose, I felt 100-Plus Women’s contribution would have a significant impact given their small, grass roots approach.” 

Interior decorators Amy Fischer of Bloomfield Hills and Kelly Martin of Beverly Hills (their company is called Girls with an Eye) agreed that City Mission could use some financial support.

And the Winner Is …

City Mission! After the winner was announced, the “angels” took out their checkbooks and pens. “In total, $15,300 was raised in exactly one hour for Detroit’s City Mission,” said host and "100 Plus Women Who Care Motown" co-founder Molly Williams. “Not bad at all,” she added with a smile, high-fiving various attendees.

About '100 Plus Women Who Care Motown'

Launched in December 2011 by Molly Williams of Bingham Farms, Karen Rashid-Balow of Birmingham and Nancy Sullivan of Northville, “100 Plus Women” held its first gathering in Birmingham at in February. It drew 130 professional businesswomen who raised funds for Royal Oak’s Welcome Inn.

Members come from all walks of life and different financial backgrounds. As a group, the women believe they have the ability to contribute to the growth of their community in ways they couldn't do alone.  

Williams is general manager of George Matick Chevrolet, where the spring fundraiser was held. Sullivan is a business development manager with Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, an environmental engineering consulting firm in Plymouth. Rashid-Balow is a financial advisor with Raymond James.

 
How It Works

The 60-minute quarterly fundraiser goes like this: First, each invitee places their name and the name of an organization they’d like to help in a big container.

After 10 minutes or so of networking and noshing, a designated attendee selects three organizations from the hat. The members who wrote down each name will be asked to come up and give a five-minute presentation as to why their chosen organization should receive the donation. A short question and answer period follows.

Typically, each attendee donates $100 per event.

Attendees then vote on their favorite and the winning nonprofit charity is announced after the votes are counted.   

Visit www.100pluswomenmotown.com for more information.   

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