Update from Soroptimist International of Chico

“On November 1st, we stood in front of the women of Power of 100 Women and said that together we can make a difference in women’s lives. We stand in front of you tonight to tell you that this is true. We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy but we had no idea how this project would take off. Our project isn’t as easy to quantify as, let say, Catalyst’s new laundry facility or the new trailer that Habitat Humanity was able to afford because of Power of 100 Women. Also, how do you measure a life saved because of education and action? Because of your donations and funding, Soroptimist International of Chico has been able to partner with Ampla Health in Chico who schedule the patients and conduct the Pap Screenings. In addition, we have recently partnered with Adventist Health who will conduct additional screenings in their Paradise Clinic. Every Women Counts has been at the Ampla clinics so that they can sign-up women that need services but cannot afford to pay for them. Not one woman has been turned away due to lack of funds.

Soroptimist, in conjunction with Lisa Almaguer of Butte County Health, have designed flyers that are in Hmong, Spanish and English. These flyers are being distributed in key locations by our club members. Lisa has also helped us craft an impactful Public Service Announcement that went to print, to several radio stations including la Radion de Chico, a Spanish language station. Each outlet now has our events in their community calendar.

On January 9th we were honored to receive a resolution from the Butte County Board of Supervisors formally recognizing January as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in Butte County. Thus far we have had 4 clinics and we have approximately 10 more scheduled (more than we initially pitched in November). We’re happy to announce that 62women have received pap test as of yesterday. Many, many more will have that opportunity. We have heard some amazing testimonials:

A 22-Year-old women came to Ampla for something else and our club members were able to calm her fears and she moved forward with getting her first Pap test. She said that it had been weighing on her since she turned 21. In addition, she couldn’t afford the co-pay so Every Women Counts signed her up which enabled the woman to receive the care she needed.

Another woman told one of our Soroptimist members at the clinic that after completing her Pap test, she also had her 15-year-old IUD removed. The relief and gratitude she expressed was profound. She told us that she put her own health on the back burner for years and finally made time for herself. It’s important to note that most IUDs should be replaced or removed every eight years.

The reach of our social media is why this woman and others have been prompted to get a pap screening. In addition to social media, like Facebook and Instagram, we’ve have had the opportunity to speak about the importance of pap screenings in two separate news local broadcast. We also did an interview that resulted in a full-page story in the Enterprise Record. We have been able to acknowledge the Power of 100 Women every step of the way. On February 13th, we have an interview with Linda Watkins Bennett for a new health segment that Action News Now will be airing.

All of this exposure has brought Cervical Cancer Awareness into the spot light and because of this we together are saving lives. Soroptimist International of Chico would like to thank the women of Power of 100 Women and the Schultz Foundation for believing in our Presidents Project and for giving us the opportunity to make a difference in women’s lives.

Update from Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity got right to it after being awarded donations from the Power of 100+ Women and the $5,000 Schultz Foundation match! Check out their amazing travel trailer that will allow them to streamline their building processes to provide more homes faster for folks in need!

A few months after their trailer purchase, a few of our members were able to see the fruits of our donations at the 2024 Habitat for Humanity Women Build! It’s so fun to see where our group’s donations are at work in our community!

Update from Ability First Sports

We have donated $18,100 thus far for Ability Sports. In addition, the Schultz Foundation will be matching $5000. Ability has been able to purchase the archery equipment and it’s on the way.

Update from Peg Taylor Center

Peg Taylor received $16,050 from Power of 100 Women Chico and a matching $5000 funds from the Schultz Foundation. They were able to use the money to complete a large part of their air conditioning upgrade making the facility much for comfortable for their clients.

Update from Butte County Search & Rescue

Noelle Francis and K9 Spinner completed the burn course in Ohio at the Center for Forensic Training on November 4th and 5th using funds provided by Power of 100 Women Chico. The class provided a safe environment to work K9’s in simulated fire scenarios such as house, car and wildland. The knowledge that we received will help us to be a stronger team whenever we encounter a similar situation and we can bring what we learned back to our team.

Update from Wings of Eagles

We raised $15,600 for Wings of Eagles, our winner in February, a long-time Chico non-profit that provides support for families with seriously ill children. From our donations, they have helped 5 families since March with out of pocket costs to San Francisco and Sacramento and will be able to help many more families in the near future. They also were able to buy supplies and tote bags for their hospital care kits. They wanted to let us know they are super grateful to the Power of 100 Women and our generous donation!

Update from CHAT

Chico Housing Action Team is delighted to report continued progress toward creation of our Everhart Village shelter project for homeless people living with mental illness. The $20,400 we received from Power of 100 Women and Schulze Foundation will pay the entire cost for our electrical design contractor, Vizion Utility Partners. We have already made the first two payments with the funds provided. Since we last presented to this group, we have retained an experienced construction superintendent, received a site map from Vision showing where our power pole and transformer will go, had meetings with the County building department to finalize details of our tiny house structures, and continued meeting with Cal Water about placement of water lines. (In another very exciting development, we recently have been awarded a grant of $200,000 from Cal Water to cover many of our water and sewer related costs!) We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from this wonderful group of women, which has enabled us to move forward the vital electrical component of our Everhart Village development. Thank you one and all!

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Update from Wings of Eagles

Since the March meeting and donations from Power of 100+ Women, the Wings of Eagles has been able to help support 5 families with out of pocket costs to San Francisco and Sacramento. We’re thrilled to be able to help many more families in the near future. We were also were able to buy supplies and tote bags for hospital care kits which will go to support families right away. We’re super grateful to the Power of 100 Women’s generous donations!

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Update from Reading Pals

The support of the Power of 100+ Women could not have come at a better time! In February when Chico Unified asked us to expand Reading Pals to all 12 elementary schools in Chico, we weren’t sure how we were going to find Site Sponsors so quickly- the $20,000 between the donations of the Power of 100+ Women and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation were just what we needed to sponsor 2 of our brand new Reading Pals sites at Hooker Oak and Neal Dow Elementary schools. Curriculum has been ordered, library carts with our materials are being organized, and all of our Site and Volunteer Coordinators are in place. We look forward to welcoming the kids into the Reading Centers in the next few weeks!

Over 300 volunteers have already signed up to spend 1-hr a week investing in the future of over 400 kids in our community. We hope to start the year with 400 volunteers so we are working hard towards our goal. When the time comes for volunteers to start with students in early September they will be welcomed at Hooker Oak and Neal Dow with a sign and logo that says: Reading Pals Site Sponsored by the Power of 100+ Women of Chico. Just today as we were getting a new site set up, I had a teacher telling me how grateful they are that Reading Pals will be coming to their campus this year- that extra special attention that students get from their “Pal” 1-on-1 is invaluable. Thank you all for making this possible for the children in our community! 

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Update from Chico Meals on Wheels

When Chico Meals on Wheels was contacted by the Power of 100+Women, Chico in February 2021 about the group’s vote to fund a new delivery vehicle for us, it couldn’t have come at a better time. As of January 2021, our deliveries had surpassed 4,400 meals and it had become a daily chore to keep the 15-year old delivery trucks up and running.  We placed the order for the Transit Van immediately and fortunately, we were able to pick it up at the end of March. Van 3, as it is called, is used for meal deliveries 7 days a week. You may be able to spot it on our Monday thru Friday “Route 2” drive in South Chico and Saturday-Sunday it can be seen in North Chico on “Route 1.”

Last year, Chico Meals on Wheels delivered over 52,000 meals to 421 clients in the Chico, Durham, Paradise, and Magalia communities. 92% of these clients are over the age of 62, 67% are women and 88% have incomes below the poverty level. The Power of 100+ Women, Chico graciously donated over $16,000 along with a $5,000 match from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation to make this happen. We could not do this without the generous support of our local community and organizations like this.  Thank you so much to all the members of Power of 100+ Women - Chico. Next time you see a Chico Meals on Wheels van, look for the Power of 100+ Women decal on the back door!

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Update from Arc of Butte County - All Abilities Playground

When Arc initiated the All-Abilities Playground project in 2015-16, the budget came in at $70,000. Between 2018 and the fall of 2020, fund-raising for this project was put on hold and seriously impacted due to the Oroville Dam crisis, the Camp Fire and then Covid-19. We weren’t sure when we would be able to break ground on the improvements.

Then, the “Power of 100+ Women, Chico” donated just over $15,000 to Arc’s All-Abilities Playground project. Subsequently, the Richard M. Schultze Family Foundation donated $5,000. And then a Soroptimist member of “Power of 100” invited Arc to submit a proposal to our local Soroptimists, and they granted Arc an additional $5,000. So the “Power of 100 Women, Chico” is responsible for generating $25,000 for Arc’s playground project!  This figure has brought us to within 10% of our goal. Since “Power of 100 Women” kick-started our project we’ve contracted with a local engineering and contracting firm - along with an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) consultant - to draw up the playground’s plan and source the materials. After three years of wondering if the playground would ever receive the ADA upgrades that are needed.

We purchased all of our playground equipment.  We were able to purchase top of the line equipment with your grant and the help of Chico State and Butte College. We partnered with Chico State Concrete Industry Management department to help with the grading and ground work needed to support the playground floor. Due to their help and your contribution we were able to purchase inclusive equipment that will actually allow those in wheelchairs to get into the equipment.  We are so excited about this!

Your grant and community support allowed us to see our playground renovation as a reality!  The equipment arrives approximately May 1st and we hope to have the playground completed and ready this summer.

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Update from Catalyst Domestic Violence Services

Last year we housed 99 households. This means over 4500 loads of laundry were washed and dried by residents in our shelter in 2019—and approximately 100 loads of house laundry were done by our staff. That’s a lot of laundry soap, water, and most importantly, clean clothes! This year has been a very different year and while our numbers may be different, laundry has been even more important. COVID-19 has created some very interesting situations. We still have folks at our shelter, so it’s critical that we are able to provide clean and sanitized bedding to every participant and that every participant have clean and sanitized clothes. Our newly purchased washers have special settings for “cleanest clothes” so that setting is really getting a workout!  Back in 2019 we thought we just needed better washers; we certainly had no idea how imperative that would be.  Thank you to the Power of 100+ Women!

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Update from Alliance for Workforce Development

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Update from From the Ground Up Farms

We are pretty involved with fire recovery, now more fires and COVID relief. Our kitchen is almost complete. We are so sorry for the delays, but never foresaw any of these disasters, nor how involved we would be in relief efforts. Between lack of available contractors, fires, COVID, more fires, it's been challenging to make progress. What an awe-inspiring project this has been. I knew what I meant, but how do you build it? This is how. You partner with a group that loves their community enough to think outside the box. We have made it bright and fun and inviting.

We are still having a "canopy" added to the outside to provide shade midafternoon. We also decided to put the sink outside and centered the stove. That way the sink is accessible at all times for handwashing, even when roll down door is locked securing the kitchen. It also gave us a lot more counter space on each side of the stove inside. Saying we're grateful doesn't come close to what we feel for your amazing group of women. You put your faith in From the Ground Up and we hope we make you proud. You have helped us dream, and then create, a first of its kind that we can find. There are a few major farms with "teaching kitchens", but there is no other outdoor teaching kitchen in a community garden that we can find anywhere. Welcome to being innovative.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. 
-Jenny Lowrey, Executive Director

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Update from Boys & Girls Club - Kicks for Kids Program

Update from Chico Posse

The Chico Posse Foundation was the lucky recipient of the donations from the November 7, 2018 meeting of the Power of 100+ Women Chico.  No one knew that night that the following day was going to change our lives forever.

The mission of the Posse is to keep people out of homelessness, and while fire disaster relief was never part of our intent, we quickly mobilized to get grants out to fire victims to helping them get housing and stay housed.

Having received almost 300 grant requests, we were buried and acting as quickly as possible to vet people and get them what they needed.  Grants included:

• Getting one woman caught up on her PG&E, Xfinity and phone bills so she could pay her rent.

• Paying rent so a woman could avoid eviction when she got behind on her bills.

• Buying a new generator and fuel for a family temporarily housed in a travel trailer.

• Helping a family catch up on their PG&E bills from the summer.

• Paying rent for a young man referred by Butte County Dept. of Employment and Social Services.

• Contributing toward the rental of a delivery truck for furniture for fire victims.

• Sending a check to the DMV to pay a fire victim’s truck registration.

• Gave a single mom a security deposit to get her family into an apartment.

This is only a fraction of the many people were able to help at a time when our community needed all the help it could get.  We were very grateful to have had the extra money from the Power of 100+ Women Chico in our foundation—especially at the time it was received!

Update from Ability First Sports

We were able to complete one of the two “school days” as we planned. It was held at Bidwell Jr. high and was a great experience. We had 30 youth with and without disabilities, three teachers and two teacher’s aides who participated. During the event, we talked about disability inclusion and adapted sports, and then we rotated the students through three stations to try out adapted basketball, cycling, and pushing in a sports wheelchair. At the end of the event, we wrapped up with the group to make sure that they were leaving with the intended message: trying out the adapted sports was not to demonstrate how difficult a wheelchair can be, but how the adapted equipment allows people with disabilities to participate with anyone.

For the second school day, we ran into barriers related to the school’s end of the year schedule, so the school had to cancel it. Instead, we were able to help and provide equipment for an adapted PE day at Chico State where youth with disabilities and students without disabilities participated in a half day event, trying out the many adapted sports and games. We also co-conducted an adapted PE night for the CSU, Chico recreation and kinesiology students, teaching them about adapted sports and inclusion with the hope that as they become professionals in the field, they will promote disability inclusion.

With the funding from the Power of 100+ Women of Chico, we purchased new youth bikes, which allowed us to include our youngest rider and take him on his first bike ride (a 4-year-old)!

Finally, part of the funding we received, we were able to purchase a small trailer to transport adapted equipment to and from events. This was a critical piece to providing sports programming as it is time consuming and burdensome to transport in trucks and cars of volunteers and staff. With the trailer, we have been able to transport equipment to the cycling events, school day events, basketball, water skiing, and other special events.

We are extremely grateful for the Power of 100+ Women and the funding provided.  It has not only enabled us to purchase handcycles, a trailer, and conduct our school events, but it has been a catalyst to expand our year around, local programs for youth and adults with disabilities. We sincerely thank you all.

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Update from Cast Hope

“The money that the Power of 100+ Women gave to Cast Hope allowed us to connect local youth to the outdoors and give them a healthy outlet from their tough lives. We were able to take kids whitewater rafting, do a ropes course day, and take them on many fly fishing outings. The ability to take kids into the outdoors who have experienced significant trauma in the their lives gives them a safe and natural place to make connections. The sound of the water while fishing brings peace and a sense of safety to many kids. Guiding kids through a ropes course helps them to push their comfort levels so that they can grow in their ability to overcome hardships—it teaches them that they can overcome fear and still do things when it seems as though they are stuck in life. Our hope is that through these outdoor scenarios, we can positively impact lives of kids and that in the long run, this outdoor connection will ultimately give them hope!”