Inaugural Meeting of 50 Women Impact Group Raises $9,400

November 23, 2017 - The inaugural meeting of The 50 Women Impact group was held with $9,400 raised and donated while it only took just over an hour to accomplish.

One of the women commented that together they can make a huge difference without even selling a raffle ticket or flipping a burger because of their motto - The power of giving as one!

The inspiration for starting The 50 Women Impact group in Shelby County came from a family member of one of the women. The family member had just joined a similar group except it was a 100 Women organization. After research the idea was brought back to invite women in Shelby County to participate.

The goal was set to invite 50+ women to participate and on the day of the meeting 89 women had signed up to give as one. Following the meeting, five additional women joined in contributing to the total. The group at the meeting heard presentations from two non-profit organizations and then voted to award the total raised to the Shelby County Child Welfare board. Lynda Kay Russell, a representative of the board, accepted the check on behalf of the organization and the impact of the group's generosity will be felt for the first time as the money will go to many children in Shelby County for a brighter Christmas.

The 50 Women Impact group will gather four times a year for a one-hour meeting, learn about local charities, and then each member will donate a $100 check to a charity that the group selects. The combined donated as one then makes a real impact!

A suggestion was made to rename the group to 100 Women Impact since the turnout from Shelby County women well exceeded what was hoped and the goal of 100 wasn't far away. However, it was felt the 50 Women Impact name reminds them that although Shelby County is a smaller county than some, it has many giving hearts and surpasses what was expected.

The group is going to come together again in February and vote on a non-profit organization which will be the next recipient. Any woman who is interested in joining is encouraged to make contact with any of the women listed below. The more members, the greater impact the group can have in Shelby County.

Members in alphabetical order: Jan Allen, Ginny Bailey, Kathy Bailey, Marliyn Ballard, Penny Bird, Cecilia Boles, Carolyn Bounds, Shana Brittain, Peggy Buddin, Tina Byrnes, Meg Camp, Candice Carter, Deborah Chadwick, Amy Clouse, Alease Copelin, Michelle Covington, Robin Crawford Connell, Cicily Cross-Blair, Mary Culver, Barbara Dance, Treasa Donnan, Kay Fairchild, Melody Golden, Ann Grant, Cindy Griffin, Allison Harbison, Mindy Harvey, Merle Howard, Pam Howard, Suzanne Ihlo, Becky Jeans, Allison Johnson, Montie Jones, Paula Jones, Tiffany Klein, Angela Koonce, Carolyn Lamb, Dixie Lawson, Monica Lawson, Ryan Lawson Taylor, Anna Lee, Shelley Locke, Casey Lout, Patricia Lout, Kelly Lucas, Rhona Mackey, Lee Ann Masterson, Mary Masterson, Lisa McAdams, Sharisse McAdams, Kim McElroy, Vickie Scruggs McFadden, Andrea Mc Elroy, Jheri-Lynn McSwain, Joyce Meeks, Traci Mettauer, Linda Miller, Judy Monroe, Heather Moody, Sharon Nelson, Billie Sue Payne, Kim Payne, Lacie Payne, Sharon Peace, April Prince, Leann Rafferty, Sheilah Reeves, Linda Kay Russell, Sue Russell, Pam Sanford, Alison Scull, Emily Shoop, Sherri Shoop, Beverly Slatter, Debra Smith, Linda Snell, Elaine Snider, Rose Specter, Christine Owens Taylor, Angie Teske, Mary Lynn Tinkle, Jennifer Tomlin, Vicki Tomlin, Emma Walker, Suzanne Walker, Bridgette Bailey Ward, Krista Warren, Fannie Watson, Cheri Wheeler, Ashlyn Wiggins, Kerri Wiggins, Serica Wilkins, Traci Willoughby, and Jennifer Wulf.