Some service clubs really ask a lot. They rigorously get their members out to weekly meetings where they have sub-committees that put each person directly involved in some large project or other. The payoff is great but man, the commitment is huge.
Lots of people are charitable and want to help but they just don’t have the time for all that.
“People are busy. They’re looking for something a little bit less onerous in terms of time commitment,” said John Liston, before his good friend John Farlinger chimed in, saying, “The good news in there is that they still want to give.”
That’s why both men are involved in one of St. Albert’s newest clubs on the scene: 100 Men Who Care. It doesn’t call itself a service club. Its members prefer to say that they’re in a social club with a heart.
After asking around with their philanthropic friends and colleagues including those who belong to other service clubs, they realized that there would be kegs’ worth of support for 100 Men to launch.
“There was an overwhelming ‘Wow, that sounds like a great idea for its simplicity.’ All we want to do is catch the guys on their way home from work, stop, have a beer, hear about some charities, write a cheque for $100, and you’re in and out in an hour,” Liston continued. “We joke that it’s simple, it’s charitable…”
“And it’s local,” Farlinger stressed.
One of the main tenets of the group is that it will serve a local need. The group meets four times a year at a local watering hole. Each member comes with $100 in hand. They listen to five-minute presentations from three different charity or community organizations that have been proposed by club members. A vote is held and the organization that gets the most votes also gets the collection plate. If there were 100 members of the group as the name would suggest then the donation would total $10,000.
The group recently made its first charitable offering to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. That chapter of the international Vincentians group works to serve people in need no matter what the form that need takes. They offer food, clothing, furniture and more to those finding themselves in troubled times financially.
In an interesting twist, the society found themselves benefiting doubly. While representatives of the local Young Life were disappointed to have not taken home the bounty, they decided that they could at least offer their services. Liston and Farlinger reported that Young Life now helps out the Vincentians with moving furniture and other tasks.
The other good news is that Young Life can still be chosen for the donation during a future meeting.
More information on the group can be found on its website at www.T8N100Men.ca. There are 100 Men and 100 Women groups in communities across North America while others are starting to sprout up in other countries including Ireland and the Cayman Islands.
