Pat & The Elephant receives $17,800 from 100 Women Who Care – Charlottetown chapter
The Charlottetown chapter of 100 Women Who Care recently met and awarded Pat & The Elephant $17,800 at its recent quarterly meeting.
Five-minute pitches were made from three charities drawn at random from member nominations, including Pat & The Elephant, Tremploy and the Community Foundation of
P.E.I.
After the group’s vote, Pat & The Elephant was voted as this quarter’s recipient of the combined $17,800 in donations, marking $100 from each member.
Ron Gillespie, Pat & Elephant's assistant manager, made his second pitch to the group and spoke about the long and rich history of the organization, dating back to 1975. The essential nonemergency and wheelchair transportation services now run 365 days per year through a fleet of eight assessable vehicles and a staff of 24 people.
Pat & The Elephant is a two-time recipient of a donation from the 100 Women Group, being awarded back in 2017.
“I was thrilled the Pat & Elephant was chosen for the 100 Women Who Care’s quarterly donation,” said Gillespie. “Pat & The Elephant provides not only essential transportation for many, but a very real sense of independence and freedom for those in need of accessibility supports. I see the difference it can make for many families and have experienced this firsthand. “I am grateful to be involved with such a wonderful organization and give back what I can to the organization that gave so much to my grandson during his life. We will put these funds to good use doing great work.”
The group also heard from Tremploy about its new facility and programming and the Community Foundation of P.E.I. on its unique model of facilitating giving to other charitable organizations.
The Upper Room Hospitality Ministry returned to tell the group of the fresh dairy and produce the December donation was able to purchase for those in need.
The 100 Women Who Care Group has now given a cumulative $662,300 to Prince Edward Island charities since its inception in 2014. New members are always welcome to 100 Women Who Care P.E.I. More details can be found at www.100womenpei.com.
“We hear so many touching stories and great work our Island charities are doing across our Island and are so pleased to be able to support projects that might not be able to happen otherwise," said Aileen Matters, 100 Women Who Care P.E.I. founding member.
"We are proud to be approaching a decade of charitable giving together under the power of local philanthropy. We can join forces and do more together than one of us could ever do alone.”
The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on June 11 at the Confederation Centre of the Arts where the group will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary.