Local charity organization 100+ Women Who Care About Whidbey Island raised $12,950 for Kids First — Island County during its fall donation cycle.

Kids First is a nonprofit dedicated to filling the unmet needs of local area children in foster care. Its goal is to give children in foster care the same opportunities and experiences that every child should have.

Members of 100+ Women Whidbey were moved by the heartfelt video that Kids First submitted, which highlighted the critical need to support children in foster care. Patti Carroll, a member of the Kids First board of directors, recently explained how the nonprofit will use the collective donation.

First, the funds will help expand its existing onboarding and “Adventures in Reading” programs. These programs aim to respond to and meet children’s individual needs and aspirations, as well as nurture a love of reading by ensuring children have year-round access to a variety of activity and reading books.

Starting in 2022, Kids First will also use the funds to help launch new initiatives, such as providing care packs for children and youth entering dependency status, beginning a “Wheels 4 Kids” program that will link Island County children with bikes, creating spring break activity boxes, and beginning “Celebrating You,” a program designed to ensure every child receives a special gift on their birthday.

According to Kids First, these 2022 initiatives are already generating a response from individuals who want to volunteer their time, talent and heart for children and youth.

100+ Women Whidbey is a local charity group run by Traci Winn, Hailie Meehan, Sonya Simmons and Alex Ellis. As of mid-December, the group consisted of 136 members. Each member agrees to donate $100 to a non-profit chosen by the group during two “giving cycles” throughout the year. Members can nominate a nonprofit for consideration, or local organizations can nominate themselves. Each giving cycle, three nonprofits are randomly selected for the group’s consideration. 100+ Women Whidbey works with each of the organizations to present their story to the members, and then one is chosen by the group to receive their collective donation. The nonprofit directly receives 100% of all donations.

To join 100+ Women Whidbey and participate in the next giving cycle in May 2022, go to www.100womenwhidbey.com and sign up. While the October giving cycle was conducted entirely online due to COVID-19, group leaders are hoping to organize an in-person meeting option for the May cycle.