Women Transforming Sonoma County Through Collective Philanthropy - Oct/Nov 2018  

Catholic Charities is our 2018 Impact Grant Winner!


President's Message
 
Beware of Email Scams! 
 
I wish email scams didn't need to be the topic of my President's Message this month, but unfortunately, these are the times we live in.
 
On Saturday, September 15, many of you received what appeared to be a desperate plea to help one of our members. "One of our member [sic] is in dire need of the entire Impact100 Redwood Circle's help to save her daughter who is critically ill and needs to be operated urgently," it read.  
 
What made the appeal especially compelling was that the scammers lifted our Impact 100 logo and placed it prominently at the head of the email. The appeal also looked like a typical GoFundMe request, complete with a heart-rending photo of a hospitalized child.
 
I have filed a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. If you would like to file your own complaint, the address is www.ic3.gov/complaint
  
Please know that we will never email you a direct plea to contribute to an online appeal. And if you ever have any questions about the validity of an email you receive from Impact 100 Redwood Circle, don't hesitate to reach out to me.
 
Thank you for your support and involvement with Impact 100.
 
Melissa 
News from our Grantees

Check out the latest news from Impact 100 RC's grantees, including SRJC's Children's Center & Sonoma County Food Recovery Program, on our new website page.  Click here

In This Issue
 Upcoming Events
 Dining Out for Life  
Thurs, Nov. 29th 
 
Support Food For Thought  
by dining at one of  
90+ Sonoma Country Restaurants  
 
Read more....

Welcome to the newest members of our circle! 

Kate Ayers
Elizabeth Colbert
Nancy Cavers Dougherty
Mary Beth Falk
Camelia Patino
Mary Alice Poe
Stephanie Poley
Lisa Stahr
Carol Yashar

Ready for registration
 
The Impact 100 Redwood Circle annual meeting was held on October 6th. Members heard from the three finalists for the 2018 grant -  Redwood Empire Food Bank, Rebuilding Together Petaluma and Catholic Charities.  Members in attendance and those submitting absentee ballots chose Catholic Charities as the 2018 Impact Grant recipient.  Please join us in congratulating them!
 
Program Summary:  Emergency Services for Homeless Children
Homelessness hurts children.  On a typical day in Sonoma County, 339 children and parents are living unsheltered. Every day a child spends on the streets, the trauma of homelessness increases the likelihood of illness and developmental delays, impacting the brain and stunting cognitive skills. Over the past two years, Catholic Charities has significantly reduced the length of time it takes to move families from shelter to housing (from 6 months to less than 60 days).  Because we serve 75% of Sonoma County homeles
Thank you Melissa for three years of leadership!
s families, our next priority is to reduce childhood trauma from homelessness.  
 
This Impact Grant will launch the Emergency Services for Homeless Children program by funding a Children's Resource Navigator and Emergency Childcare Subsidies.  As a result, eve ry child in our family shelter will connect with therapeutic services, parents will link to long-term childcare, and families will quickly access housing.  
 
Emergency Services for Homeless Children builds on Catholic Charities' successful progra ms, where housing needs assessments and rental subsidies result in 90% of homeless families retaining housing after leaving shelter.  
 
This program will tackle the unmet needs of children in our shelter through measurable outcomes: 1) Assessing 275 children, facilitating referrals to therapeutic services,  2) Providing childcare subsidies to 38 families, and 3) Subsidizing 25% of participating families into housing more rapidly than those without subsidies.  
 
No Sonoma County child should be traumatized because they lack housing. Emergency Services for Homeless Children will help the youngest of our County's homeless heal and stem the trauma of childhood homelessness.  
 
 A BIG thank you to this year's Impact Grant committee!

Suzy Marzalak  Marianne Messer, Co-Chairs 
DOFLSonoma County Dines out for Life on Nov. 29th  
Eat out and Support Food for Thought! 
 
Thursday, November 29th marks the seventeenth year Food For Thought hosts Sonoma County's annual Dining Out For Life event. This is FFT's biggest fund raiser of the year, and there are a couple of ways Impact 100 RC members can help:
 
Become an Ambassador
Select a role as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner ambassador from restaurants across Sonoma County. Responsibilities include: inviting your friends, family and networks;
promoting FFT and DOFL using email and/or social m edia and welcoming and thanking diners. Please contact Volunteer Program Manager, Helen Myers, by phone at (707) 887-1647 x 103 or by email at [email protected]
 
Eat out on November 29th
Select from 90-plus restaurants throughout Sonoma County who will donate between 25 to 50 percent of the day's proceeds to Food For Thought. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy one of our amazing eateries while supporting FFT's life-sustaining programs. Click here to see a list of participating restaurants. 
 
Jan Gilman & Kristin Nelson, Liaison Committee Co-Chairs  
 
NEW!  Impact 100 RC's Education Advisory Team
 
The lifeblood of our Impact and Community grants begins with the nomination of appropriate organizations. The goal of the Education Advisory Team will be to provide information to Impact 100 RC members that will assist them in making informed choices when nominating a non-profit. 
 
Thea Hensel and Laurie Parish are facilitating the Education Advisory Team.  A team of 5-6 people would be ideal so please join us in this exciting endeavor. 
 
Call Thea Hensel at 707-953-1207 for more information.
Summer Social Recap

A wonderful morning was spent at Quarryhill Botanical Gardens. Forty-si
x members enjoyed the social on the beautiful patio of Quarryhill. The weather was perfect for a walk through the gardens and then sharing lunch provided by Taste of Perfection Catering.
  
Thank you to Barbara Haggerty for supplying the table decorations, Liz Bortolotto, Teresa Denniston, Dee Dee Bridges and Sharon Yacura for the set-up and providing excellent desserts. All the remaining food and drinks were donated to the non-profit the Living Room.
 
Pat Edelstein, Events Committee  
Contact our Newsletter Editor:
If you have questions or suggestions for The Impact 100 Redwood Circle Communique, please contact Editor, Jan Houts at [email protected]