$10,000 awarded to Elsie’s Barnyard

ELLSWORTH – How do you make a huge financial impact on one deserving orga –

nization in a short amount of time? You gath – er 100 women in a room for one hour who each donate $100 for a total of $10,000, that's how.

The Oct. 13 inaugural meeting of Power of 100 Women – Ellsworth was a smashing success, according to founding board mem bers Melissa Ryden and Crystal Raleigh. The recipient of the group's first $10,000 impact award was Elsie's Barnyard, a farm out – side of Ellsworth dedicated to restoring and strengthening the hearts, minds and souls of children and families facing adverse medical conditions through interacting with animals and nature.

Ryden had been hearing about the Power of 100 Women – River Falls organization for many years, which piqued her interest. She joined forces with another Ellsworth wom –

an interested in bringing the organization to Ellsworth, Kaydi Sobottka.

"I reached out to a complete stranger and asked to be her partner,” Ryden said. “The rest is really history.”

The pair met with the River Falls board, who recommended they put together an Ells- worth board of directors. The team, besides themselves, they put together is comprised of women with diverse jobs and skillsets: Ka – tie Feuerhelm, Kayleen Jakes, Emily Langer, Amy Loberg and Raleigh.

The next step was gathering 100 women willing to donate $100 twice a year. They had nothing to worry about. The group held a soft launch when its website went live. The board members reached out to friends and in no time, 100 women had signed up with a waiting list to boot.

"After our meeting last week, I had mul tiple people reach out to me to ask how they can get involved,” Ryden said. “So many asked ‘Can you make it be Power of 101?’” While the River Falls group technically has about 160 members, Ellsworth is keeping theirs right around 100 – for now.

“One of our biggest limitations is space,” Raleigh said. "To find spaces in the Ellsworth area that can hold 125 people comfortably.”

Currently, the group has 109 members (because some paper memberships came in the mail even though online filled up) with 12 on the waiting list.

“We wanted to make sure we were accommodating since people were mailing checks through the mail (for dues),” Ryden said.

How does it work?

Organizations submit applications to the board to be considered for the $10,000 impact award. The board received 12 applications for their inaugural event, which they narrowed down to three through rounds of voting. The top three are then invited to present for seven minutes at the impact meeting to the full group, who selects its winner. The top three included Elsie’s Barnyard, Adoray Hospice and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Ball Park.

“One of the biggest things that jumped out at me is that so many people weren’t even aware that such a great thing (Elsie’s or the ball park) was in the neighborhood,” Ryden said.

Once the winner is chosen, each woman writes a $100 check; some employers do donation matching, which could spell even more money for the winner.

“We do want to get the word out there, that just because you’re not in the core 100, that doesn’t mean you can’t donate to these organizations,” Ryden said.

Raleigh said the other two finalists walked out with significant donations as well. The women can donate to the other two finalists separate from the main impact award.

The event was the culmination of something that tugged at Ryden for years. It was one of her bucket list items, to start a Power of 100 Women group in Ellsworth.

“There were tears,” Ryden said of that night. “How many times did I show you (Raleigh) the hair standing up on my arms?

There were tears of joy. The connecting, the networking. I loved all of these people with a common interest getting together.”

Raleigh said she had a hard time sleeping that night, because the adrenaline was pumping.

“No one has an opportunity to give away $10,000,” Raleigh said. “It’s always awesome to give. When you’re giving that big of an amount, it’s energizing in itself.”

Ryden said people were shocked at how seamless the night went and how organized everything was. The Bluus (in Hager City) donated the use of its facility and provided amazing food. Dawn Minder of Reminder Photography donated her services and Helmer Printing provided the programs.

When asked how she felt that night, Ryden had a simple answer.

“I still have that perma smile going,” she laughed.

The group hopes its euorts will help bring more exposure to deserving organizations that are dedicated to improving life in the Ellsworth area.

“We wanted the impact award to go to, the big thing is that it’s going to impact the Ellsworth area,” Ryden said. “There are so many good things out there that are happening.”

While River Falls’ group only allows non-profits with a 501c3 status to apply, Ells worth allows any organization that is making a diuerence. This means donations may not be tax deductible.

The group plans to hold an impact meeting twice per year; the next meeting will be held in April with applications opening in early March. The application is kept simple on purpose: How are you going to impact Ellsworth and use these dollars? Their mission is also simple but powerful: To uplift and support the community through the positive and powerful collaboration of passionate and generous women. Raleigh is proud to be part of this organization.

“I’m just so grateful to have gotten to know the first seven and call them friends now,” Raleigh said. “It makes me excited for all of these to come in the future. To see what Elsie’s does in the future. To be able to help her get ou the ground. I'm so pumped to see what’s going to happen with that.”

To learn more about Power of 100 Women – Ellsworth, join the waiting list, or apply (in March) for an impact award, visit www. powerof100ellsworth.org

(From left) Power of 100 Women – Ellsworth founding board members Melissa Ryden, Kaydi Sobottka and Kayleen Jakes announce the winner of the group’s first Impact Award. Photo courtesy of Reminder Photography

Representatives from Elsie’s Barnyard, which falls under the Ellsworth E3 Community Development Corporation umbrella, explain their mission to Power of 100 attendees. Photo courtesy of Reminder Photography