10K Donation Awarded to Habitat for Humanity

100 Women Who Care Foothills’ $10K donation to the Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta’s Foothills Chapter duplex project in High River will be allocated to landscaping.  Pictured, from left to right Terri Perrin, Chair of 100 Women;  Marilynn Boake, Habitat chapter chair; Carol Knox, Habitat chapter member; and Shanon Maksymich, 100 Women Membership Lead.

At the March 12th meeting of 100 Women Who Care Foothills, three local charities made presentations to the membership for a chance at being selected by a majority vote as the recipient of funding through this unique collective giving organization. Moe Dog Rescue Mission, the Friends of Sheep River Library and Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta all made heartfelt and compelling presentations. It was Habitat for Humanity that was selected as 100 Women’s Q2-2026 recipient, receiving $10,000 of unrestricted funding. The other two charity names have gone back into 100 Women’s ‘Nomination Pot’, to be considered for future funding opportunities.

“The Foothills area has an unprecedented shortage of rental housing, so we were so grateful to receive this financial support,” explains Marilyn Boake, chairperson for Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta’s Foothills Chapter. “We had to turn down many qualified families who applied for our latest housing development at 831 - 6^th Street SW in High River. We heard so many heartbreaking stories of housing desperation.

“Interior work on the duplex is in the final stages of completion, and the next step is landscaping,” adds Boake. “This donation from 100 Women Who Care will be used to pay for fencing materials, trees, and sod for the duplex. Years from now, when members of 100 Women Who Care drive by this affordable housing development, they can say; ‘We helped build that! We played a role in providing stability to these two families, and many future families, because as a community, we showed up’.” 

“At 100 Women Who Care Foothills, we are rooted in our community, so it was fitting that this quarter’s donation will go towards landscaping at an affordable housing project and, quite literally, help two families put down roots,” says 100 Women’s chair, Terri Perrin. “This latest donation brings our giving collective’s total community impact to an impressive $325K to local charities over the past 10 years. And, due to increased community engagement after our summer 2025 reorganization plan was initiated,  it’s the first time since August 2023 that we have hit our $10,000 quarterly donation target.

“We currently have 97 contributing members of 100 Women Who Care Foothills and new members are always welcome,” concludes Perrin. “Our goal is to become 100-PLUS Women Who Care in 2026. The more members we have, the greater our community impact will be.”

ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SOUTHERN ALBERTA: Habitat for Humanity fills the gap between rental housing and traditional homeownership. (The houses are not free.)  Qualified hardworking families enter Habitat homeownership with no cash down payment to achieve an affordable mortgage through an investment of 500 hours of volunteering on the construction of their new home and in our community. 

Their interest-free mortgage payments, not through a traditional bank, are capped at no more than 30 percent of their annual income. These mortgage payments are then directed back into Habitat for Humanity’s build fund for future (and local) affordable home building projects. Habitat homeowners become taxpayers and volunteers in our community.

Learn more at: www.habitatsouthernab.ca.