100+ Women who Care Cheshire County was founded in 2016 and is associated with the 100 Who Care Alliance. They are also a part of over 700 “giving circles.”
Here in Keene, Project Home is a non-profit organization helping asylum seekers move from detention centers into caring homes and communities while waiting for their asylum hearings.
A little background on both organizations:
Women who Care meet four times a year for about an hour where each member donates a $50 check which will then be given to a local non-profit organization. How this works is, at each meeting members nominate an organization, the names are placed into a hat and three names are then drawn. Presentations are given about the organizations, questions (if any) are answered and then a vote for one is taken. The non-profit receiving the most votes, is given all the checks which are then made out to them.
“Project Home is a grassroots organization that helps asylum seekers move from detention centers into our communities and homes as they await their asylum hearings. We will welcome at least five asylum-seeking families or individuals in a given period of time, providing not only housing but legal, medical, educational and any other necessary support. We are creating a community-based model in the Monadnock Region and working with other organizations to develop a coalition that supports this work. This will serve as the foundation for replicating this model across New Hampshire, and eventually across the nation.” This is the Mission Statement from the Project Home website.
In 2019, Project Home became a busy non-profit organization dedicated to the needs of those guests who are seeking asylum here in America. Teams are assembled to supply support in various ways such as hosting a family (or a single person, or perhaps a parent and child), arranging for legal support, transporting them to services such as medical and mental health care, English as a second language classes, schools for children, and job training. Basic assimilation into a new community.
Recently, at the August 2023 meeting of 100+ Women Who Care Cheshire County, Project Home was chosen as the recipient of the quarterly donations totaling $18,130. This funding will go a long way in providing Project Home guests with the basic needs of food and shelter, education and legal support.
Guests and new members at 100+ Women who Care are always welcome. For more information about the group, visit 100pluswomencheshire-county.com or email 100pluswomencheshirecounty@gmail.com. To learn more, possibly become part of a team, or to donate go to the above mentioned Project Home website.
Congratulations Project Home and thank you Women who Care!
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus 1849-1887