Beaufort Chapter History

The Beaufort Chapter of 100 Women Who Care was founded in January 2015 by Jeneane Ryan.  Jeneane had recently moved from Naperville, IL, where she had seen the idea work and thought it would be well received in Beaufort.  The inaugural meeting was held on January 13 at 5:30 pm at First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort with well over 100 members, far exceeding Jeneane’s expectations!

“It’s such a wonderful concept. You have women who come together four times a year and say, ‘Let’s all commit to give $100.’ And that’s it, you’re done.” (from an interview with the Island Packet)”

Members from the inaugural meeting came from as far as Bluffton and Hilton Head and, following that meeting, went on to form their own chapters.  Still, the Beaufort Chapter’s membership increased from 125 at the first meeting to 151 by their third meeting in July, and to date, 100 Women Who Care Beaufort has donated more than $469,000 to local Beaufort non-profits.

An Interview with Founder Jeneane Ryan

It all began with a baby crib

The first chapter of 100 Women Who Care was founded in Jackson, Michigan, by the late Karen Dunigan, who always considered 100 Women Who Care to be one of her greatest ideas.  As many great ideas do, it came serendipitously: during a meeting with leadership from the local Center for Family Health.  In a Fundraising meeting,  Karen learned that local mothers were bringing their babies home and putting them to sleep in boxes and dresser drawers because they couldn’t afford cribs, leading to the infant’s death in some cases.

Rather than seek a few large donors to meet the $10,000 goal for the project, Karen thought that she easily knew 100 women would be willing to donate $100.  At their first meeting, the women raised over $12,000 for the project, and 100 Women Who Care was born.  Now, there are over 350 Chapters in the 100 Who Care Alliance, including chapters of 100 Kids Who Care and 100 Men Who Care!

– Adapted From the 100 Who Care Alliance (www.100womenwhocare.org)