SOYA founder Connie Raynor-Elliott was shocked last month when she learned her organization would receive a $40,000 donation from the local chapter of 100 Guys Who Care.
On Tuesday she was surprised again when she instead received a $50,000 cheque from the group.
"This is mind blowing, absolutely mind blowing," said Raynor-Elliott of Save Our Young Adults from Drug Abuse (SOYA) after receiving the donation.
During its meeting at The Tap Room on Tuesday, 100 Guys Who Care of Sault Ste. Marie not only presented Raynor-Elliott with the cheque, but also announced the next four charitable organizations it plans on supporting.
The significant donation comes at a great time for SOYA, as the organization is settling into its new building on Gore Street after losing much of its food and other inventory as a result of a burst pipe at its former location.
"We still need to do a few renovations, like the basement needs a vapour barrier and building maintenance and then we definitely have to start restocking when it comes to food, the personal hygiene items and I ran out of bus passes," said Raynor-Elliott.
Organized locally by Joe Ruscio, 100 Guys Who Care is a movement occurring across Canada by people seeking positive change in their communities. It is mirrored by a similar group in the Sault and other communities called 100 Women Who Care.
The group's membership represents a cross-section of the residents of Sault Ste. Marie.
"It brings a lot of different parts of the community together and I really enjoy that. It's probably a large reason that helps keep us together — there's certainly the charitable aspect, but the fellowship part I think is very important, too," said Ruscio.
The Sault Ste. Marie chapter meets four times a year, meaning each member commits to contributing $400 per year toward the group's efforts.
That may not seem like a lot of money, but multiplied by 127 members it means more than $50,000 is contributed per year to local charitable organizations, even before matching dollars are added by corporate sponsors and personal donors.
"The idea is to try to keep it as simple as possible, so we vote on our charities on an annual basis and every three months we meet. Then based on the voting results, each quarter we pick a charity that was voted upon by the membership group and then I arrange for the donations to be made directly to the charity," said Ruscio.
The meetings are moved to support different bars and restaurants in the community and the cost of holding the events does not come out of the donations that the group collects. On Tuesday, The Tap Room was the venue of choice.
"Everybody's on their own for drinks, they pick up their own tab. I usually try to get the venue to sponsor appetizers," said Ruscio.
The chapter currently has 127 members, which allows for the group to raise even more money each meeting than if they had only 100 members. Typically, the group's members raise between $8,000 and $11,000 per meeting, he said.
Aaron Wise is the regional manager for Equipment World and has been a member of 100 Guys for about a year. Wise said he enjoys the social aspect of the group and the simplicity of the concept.
"It's great to be able to help people without having to organize a big golf tournament or something like that," Wise said.
In addition to Wise's personal contribution through 100 Guys, Equipment World made a $5,000 donation toward supporting SOYA through the group.
Other significant corporate donations came in from Health Care Solutions, RBC, Village Media and The Tap Room, in addition to numerous personal donors who together helped raise the $50,000 for SOYA — including a $20,000 anonymous donation.
During Tuesday's meeting, Ruscio encouraged the members to each recruit one person, with hopes the group can grow to 200 members or more, multiplying its fundraising ability. With 200 members, the group could raise $80,000 per year, not counting corporate or personal donations.
Ruscio announced the next four recipients of donations from the group: the YMCA, Meals on Wheels, KidSport, and The Salvation Army.
Those groups were selected as part of what is being called "COVID Catch Up" to help support organizations that were negatively affected by COVID-19.
If the group's membership goals are reached, Ruscio said the organizations could expect to each receive $15,000 directly from the group, not including corporate and personal donations.