SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After seeing 100 men in Ontario gather in support for their community's non-profit organizations and charities, Yellowknifer Paul Shearme said he was inspired by the camaraderie he witnessed.
Paul Shearme is one of the founders behind the Yellowknife branch of 100 Men Who Give a Damn. The organization brings together 100 men who donate money toward local organizations. - Dana Bowen/NNSL photo |
Not long afterward, he and Garrett Hinchey teamed up to bring the national group North and have already gathered nearly 90 men.
"We were fairly certain we would be able to get 100 people in this town. We were hoping we would be able to do that within the six weeks from our launch date to our first meeting. But we also thought it was a bit aggressive," said Shearme. "We thought, 'It's not a lot of time,' but we were halfway there within a week and we were shocked by that - amazed. The response has been tremendous."
100 Men Who Give a Damn is a national organization with branches across the country.
The idea is to gather 100 men in each community four times a year for one hour and for each man to donate $100 each round and decide where the money should go.
"So if we have 100 men with $100 donations, then we have $10,000 going to that one charity," explained Shearme. "So there's that whole power in numbers concept."
The group has to pick a different charity during each meeting, so by the end of the year four separate organizations will have received $10,000.
Members suggest places they would like to see the money go. Organizers choose the top three, at which point the top proponents have five minutes to convince the audience before it is put to a vote.
"Most people who get involved in something like this, it's because they have a charity in mind or something close to their heart they would like to help out with," Shearme added.
Member Bob Brooks hopes to put the money toward the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.
"I am finding a definite lack of (financial) arts support in the North," he said. "When it comes to the arts, they are really struggling to find funding to make it happen."
Brooks mentioned he gets a season pass for the NACC shows every year and often gets involved with Ptarmigan Ptheatrics and other creative projects in town.
Brooks had first heard of the Yellowknife chapter 100 Men Who Give a Damn through Facebook and immediately jumped on board.
He then went on to convince members of another group he is part of - the Rotary Club of Yellowknife - to join as well.
"I really like the concept of the whole thing. It's very simple. You don't have to have too much involvement," he said.
"You go to a meeting four times a year, provide 100 bucks each time and there's a democratic process of choosing worthy groups to go forward with."
However, many people have questioned why the group excludes women from joining, Shearme said. He explained the group originally started at a national level with the intention of showing the world that "men care too," and want to help out in their communities.
While the group does exclude women, Shearme said there has been talk of creating 100 Women Who Give a Damn in the city.
"We are really happy to help with that and if you think about it, if we are able to raise $10,000 four times a year, that's $40,000 for the whole year for charities," he said. "But now we're starting 100 Women Who Give a Damn who do the same thing and double that money - that's $80,000 to local charities. That's incredible."
The first meeting takes place Wednesday at The Top Knight, with the next one set for May 25.
