DIDSBURY - A new group in town, 100 Didsburians, wants to impact the community in a big way, members say.
The group is spearheaded by local members of the business community – Brad Bethune, owner of Didsbury Subway, and Laurie Klassen, branch manager of Didsbury ATB.
Although 100 Didsburians is similar to the one in Carstairs (100StrongCarstairs) it is a completely separate and unrelated organization.
Bethune and Klassen came up with the idea together after seeing it work well in other communities.
"I've heard about it before and I've been wanting to do one for awhile," said Klassen. "One day Brad and I saw each other and he just mentioned the 100 Men club (in the Okanagan) and I said if you want to do it, I'm in."
"I have a very good friend of mine in the Okanagan where they do one with up to 500 men and they call it 100 Men Who Give a Damn," said Bethune. "On occasion, they'll have anywhere up to 200 people there. So the premise is to give $100 for every person who's there to a needy or charitable organization in the community."
Bethune said people who donate $100, which is on a quarterly basis, will receive a charitable receipt they could use for their CRA filing that year.
"Who wouldn't want a $400 CRA taxable receipt going against their taxes?" he said.
100 Didsburians will meet four times a year, said Bethune. Anyone can nominate a charitable organization for the prize. Before each meeting, Bethune and Klassen and any other core members will select three groups to present.
"Those will do a quick five- to seven-minute presentation," said Klassen. "Who doesn't want to contribute to their community collectively as a group? You can hand a cheque for $10,000 over and know the project that it's going to. Sometimes $100 doesn't seem like a lot, but you combine 100 people's $100 that can have a real impact for our smaller groups."
Each paid member gets to vote on their choice for the winner out of the three presenters. The presenting group with the most votes gets all the money from that meeting, said Klassen.
"How often can a group, say the Didsbury High School band or Rural Alberta Ride for Dad or the Didsbury Skating Club say, hey we just received $10,000?" said Bethune. "If we can give back to the community -- that's the whole idea. If you pay $100 every three months that's really not a lot.
"For a lot of people how much time is spent banging on doors selling poinsettias or meats or chocolate? This is giving back in one fell swoop."
It's a great way to give back to the community, said Klassen.
"I think anyone who works for any of the organizations in this economy has seen donations go down," said Klassen. "We're just trying to find a way to help them get back to where they were. Get that infusion going again."
The first meeting for 100 Didsburians goes Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Didsbury Museum at 7 p.m.
For more information or to register you can check out the group's Facebook page 100 Didsburians or see Klassen at Didsbury ATB or Bethune at Subway.
