100 Women Who Care donates $6,000 to Pal-O-Mine

Despite the challenging weather on Jan. 14th, 34 of 72 100 Women Who Care members were able to attend and vote to award their $6,000 in meeting's member donation checks to Pal-O-Mine Equestrian (POM), located in Islandia. POM's mission is to provide therapeutic equine programs that use horses to facilitate growth, learning and healing. Their population includes children and adults with disabilities, those who have been abused or neglected, the military and the economically compromised. Charter member, Jennie DiGuardia, gave members insights about POM's history, facility and programs during her charity nomination speech and why their donation would be used towards their battered women's program. DiGuardia said, "1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime (National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention). The women and children who are victims of abuse need our help in coping with the violence, developing the strength and acquiring the resources needed to leave their abusers and a support network to help them stay safe. Why horses? They are empowering. They often stand 6 ft. tall and weigh over 1,000 pounds. They are not judgmental nor do they see color, race, age or hold grudges. They teach respect, boundaries, responsibilities and accountability all while building self worth." 100 Women Who Care about Long Island is a new philanthropic group formed for local women who are interested in supporting their communities by contributing to Long Island charities together as a group to increase the donation impact. All of their members/teams make a pledge to 100 Women Who Care about Long Island to make an annual donation of $400. This equates to their writing a $100 check made payable to the winning charity, even if they are not in attendance, at each of our quarterly meetings. As individuals it is difficult to make a very large impact, but as a group they have the ability to contribute to the growth of their communities in ways that we never before thought possible. The size of their quarterly donations is limited only by the members they have! Their next meeting is Tuesday, April 8th from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Jewel Restaurant in Melville (on Rte. 110 at the LIE in Rubie Corporate Plaza). After the meeting we invite you to join us for some socializing and networking. There will be complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar available. Please visit their website, www.100wwcli.org, to join and nominate your favorite charity on-line. If you require further information, please contact Dawn Carlson at [email protected]