The House of Lazarus was the charity selected to receive $10,000 raised in about 40 minutes by the North Dundas 100 Men Who Care. Following the selection of the House of Lazarus, Cathy Ashby took a moment with board members to commemorate the event. Left to right are Aaron Dellah, Dan Gasser, Cathy Ashby, House of Lazarus, Ben Bayham, MP Eric Duncan, Diane Crummy, Dan Pettigrew (missing Devon Byers.) Tinkess Photo

NORTH DUNDAS—100 Men Who Care is an interesting concept. Most charities will mount a fundraising campaign that lasts many months, involve hundreds of volunteers, and must maintain an expensive administrative infrastructure. One hundred men, on the other hand, have very little overhead, obtain an extremely quick result, and go home with the feeling of having done something good and of having spent a pleasant evening meeting with friends and colleagues over a casual beverage. What’s not to like?

Dan Gasser, the chair of the North Dundas 100 Men Who Care was greeting everyone at the door of the Chesterville Royal Canadian Legion branch last Thursday evening and he was obviously happy to be back to having in-person events. He provided a refresher on how the evening would progress.

The first step is to sign-up to reserve a spot at the event (www.100northdundas.com/signup-men/).

“You provide a blank cheque for $100 or $100 in cash,” said Gasser. “Each of the charities gives a quick 3-minute presentation about their project and how it will impact North Dundas. After they are finished, the attendees vote for the charity of their choice and the winner is announced. They receive the blank cheques and cash and issue a charitable tax receipt.”

If more than 100 men sign up, then the first $10,000 goes to the winning charity and the balance is given to the charity that comes in second.

On this night there were six charities in the running: The Boys and Girls Club, The Rotary Club, Dundas County Hospice, Winchester District Memorial Hospital, The House of Lazarus, and the Winchester District Fire Department. Each made a presentation outlining the project they hoped to pursue if they were successful in being selected. Once these were completed, the voting took place.

It didn’t take long: Eric Duncan, MP for Stormont, Dundas, and South Glengarry, and one of the groups founding members provided the results.

“Eleven thousand dollars raised in 38 minutes of our meeting here once a year,” said Duncan. “We are going to have two recipients here tonight, a first and a second. I’ll start with the second-place winner, who is going to receive a thousand dollars towards their project and that is Dundas County Hospice (The money will go towards a new generator.)

“Our first-place recipient who is going to receive their $10,000 ask is The House of Lazarus. The funds will be used in their Neighbours Helping Neighbours project, which is directed towards the problem of homelessness in the county.”

Cathy Ashby, executive director of The House of Lazarus was humbled by her group’s selection. “Amazed, amazed. There is such a need right now in our community,” said Ashby. “I never thought we’d see the number of homeless people and people who are needing support as we have in this past year. This will really help get us through this winter.”

A difference made (two actually) and in only 38 minutes. It left many looking like they wanted to do it again, and they will.

“We will be back next year,” said Gasser, “and the women (100 Women Who Care) will be back in the spring. Please sign-up next year and bring a friend.

“We say a 100 Men Who Care, it really could be a hundred plus, men who care.”