100 Tritons Who Care (100 TWC), a new Iowa Central Community College project based on an innovative approach to charitable fundraising, was launched last fall. The second dinner event occurred on Tuesday.

As Mary Ludwig, Iowa Central director of development and facilitator of 100 TWC, explains, “The concept is simple: 100 participants each contribute $100 for each event to support a selected campus project, creating an immediate and meaningful impact for students.”

Two 100 TWC events are held each academic year, once in the fall and again in the spring. Ludwig said that such events focus on uniting Iowa Central alumni, current and retired staff, friends, and community partners, to work collectively to shape the future of the college.

“Anyone who appreciates what Iowa Central brings to this region is invited to join our group and collaboratively support a project,” she said.

All of the money raised at each event is placed into a single pot to be awarded to the winning Iowa Central program.

“The TWC members present at the event get to decide collectively which project that they want to support,” Ludwig said.

She notes that a 100 TWC committee of community members helps to plan and implement each event. Committee members include Larry McLuckie, Jolinn Price, Mary Kay Daniel, Deb Zemke, Nancy Crimmins, Leon Stiert, Judge Brown, Sara Carlson, and Leah Glasgo.

On Tuesday night, three separate Iowa Central programs — TRIO, Electrical Technologies, and Plumbing Technology — competed for donation dollars raised by 100 TWC participants.

The program coordinators took turns making their best pitch for a proposed project to a packed house at Willow Ridge. Each coordinator was allocated five minutes to present their project proposal for consideration. At the end of the evening, everyone in the room was allowed to cast a ballot with their top selection.

“After the people vote, we collect all the ballots, and then we sort the ballots to see which one gained the most votes,” Ludwig said. “The one that receives the most votes receives all of the donations for the night.”

According to Ludwig, this new Iowa Central fundraising initiative is modeled after a relatively new movement, known as 100 Who Care. It is a type of “giving circle” where 100 members in a community each donate $100 to raise $10,000 for a local charity in a single hour.

This new movement was founded in November 2006 by Karen Dunigan, in Jackson, Michigan. It was designed to be a simple, fast way to raise money for local charitable needs.

As a health care worker, Dunigan became concerned after learning that local mothers were placing babies in dresser drawers due to lack of funds for cribs. However, she realized that 100 women working together could provide cribs for impoverished women.

Since that time, the 100 Who Care movement has evolved and spread rapidly around the world, resulting in hundreds of chapters, including specialized groups for men, women, and children.

“The model has continued to grow, and now you can find 100 Who Care groups devoted to various projects,” Ludwig said. “Here in Fort Dodge, for example, 100 Women Who Care supplies donations to different charitable projects in the area. Similar to our initiative, three groups compete to receive a collective donation at each meeting.”

At the inaugural 100 Tritons Who Care dinner event in October, the winner of the $10,000 cash prize was the new veterinarian technician program, which edged out the dental hygiene program and a general student scholarship fund initiative.

The winning entry for Tuesday night’s event was TRIO, which is a program designed to promote the academic and personal success of students in any major field of study. It offers a variety of services, including tutoring, academic and career advising, financial aid assistance, seminars and workshops, job shadowing, cultural and social activities, transfer assistance, and a campus study area located in the Liberal Arts Building.

In addressing the audience, Kris Nerem-Lowery, TRIO project director, explained that her program currently serves 175 “at-risk students,” including first generation college students, low-income students, and students with disabilities.

“Even though TRIO receives funding from the federal Department of Education, our grant funds are limited on what we can spend,” she told the crowd. “We don’t have money to spend on food, for example. We have a lot of students whose basic needs are not being met, including food.”

Nerem-Lowery observes that students who live on campus have access to food at the school cafeteria; however, many TRIO students encounter various issues and problems.

“When we provide food, they are more likely to come visit the TRIO study area, which gives us an opportunity to assist them with our other services,” she said.

Steve Cabrera, electrical technologies program coordinator, presented his program for consideration at the event. This program provides training that is essential for entry-level positions as residential electricians, plant maintenance electricians, and wind farm technicians.

Tyson Barnett heads the plumbing technology program; which provides students with the education, skills and experience that are needed to be a successful plumber in today’s workforce. Both Cabrera and Barnett emphasized the need for providing expanded laboratory space for their students.

As a result of winning the competition, TRIO will receive at least $10,000 of donated funds. “TRIO is creating a space to ensure that at-risk students can be as successful as possible while a student here at the college,” Ludwig said.

Even though only one program wins at each 100 TWC event, the other competing programs gain more recognition as a consequence of their participation, and are often better able to solicit donations for their respective needs in other venues.

“Each event allows everybody to learn more about three different programs that are here at the college, which are helping our students prepare for the workforce,” Ludwig said. “And it’s a great way to share more information. Whether they win or not it’s a friendly competition.”

Jesse Ulrich, Iowa Central president, agrees, noting that 100 Tritons Who Care is a “great event” designed to showcase the college’s programs, while directly involving the community and alumni in fundraising.

“We’re really honored that so many people came out to support the 100 Tritons Who Care,” he said. “The continued generosity is inspiring. It’s a wonderful venture for folks to be able to choose where their dollars go and really make a positive impact for students.”