At the end of the North Dundas 100 Men Who Care meeting, members of the committee and representatives of the successful charities gathered for a photo. Front row, from left: Ben Baynham, Dan Gasser, Eric Duncan, Arnold Scheerder, Dundas County Hospice, back row, from left: Cindy Ault-Peters, executive director, WDMH Foundation, Erin Heustis, executive director, Dundas-Stormont Community Food Share, Aaron Dellah. Absent: Dan Pettigrew. Tinkess Photo

CHESTERVILLE – The 2026 edition of the North Dundas 100 Men Who Care gathered at the Chesterville Legion on the evening of October 29. Less than two hours later a substantial amount of money had not only been pledged but also collected and the goals of at least two local charities had been achieved.

While as the name implies, the goal is to always have 100 Men donate $100, sometimes, despite the best efforts of all involved that doesn’t happen. At the time of the event the number of people who had committed to a donation was hovering around 85. Two things often happen: numbers climb in the days following the event, and frequently someone reaches out to the charities who were not selected and volunteers in some way to help them achieve their goal. Regardless of the numbers, the result is always positive.

On this evening there were five Charities who had signed up to present their request:

  • Dundas County Hospice
  • Community Food Share
  • United Way SDG
  • Dundas Manor
  • Morewood Recreation Association

Each group had three minutes in which to make their presentation, explaining a bit about their organization, how much they were asking for and what the funds would be used for.  At the completion of the presentations each donor would cast a single vote for the organization of their choice and once the votes were tallied, two or more of the charities would be selected to receive their request. Occasionally, more than two charities are selected, depending upon what the respective requests add up to.

On this evening the charities selected to receive their full request were Community Food Share, who asked for $3,000 to help provide deodorant and laundry soap and Dundas County Hospice, who asked for $5,000 to help fund their Adult Day program. A small balance remained, and it would go to the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation to help fund a specialized piece of equipment (a Sara-Flex sit-stand lift) that would help staff at Dundas Manor as they work to improve the mobility of their residents.

Erin Huestis, the executive director of Dundas-Stormont Community Food Share was pleased with being the organization which received the most votes.

“Right now, numbers are up by 9 per cent from last year, and what we’re seeing with that is more people are coming to a bank that are actually gainfully employed,” said Huestis.

“We’re seeing that people are having a hard time putting food on the table regardless if they’re employed or not. It’s not just, you know, unemployed or clients on ODSP.

We’re seeing people that are really struggling, that are working full time. So even for me, as a millennial, if you will, I started out working and being able to support myself, and now it’s, it’s not even a realistic possibility. That to me, is the biggest thing we’re seeing that’s new.

And then unfortunately, donations are down as well. We see a decrease because it’s harder for people to give right now. I think donations are down about 15 per cent. in terms of monetary, but for food. We are surprisingly up by 5 per cent, but it’s still not enough. Looking at the budgets, our numbers, we’re still at a very big deficit in our year. So, yeah, it’s a big challenge.”

As much as the food donations are needed and certainly appreciated, monetary donations can often be leveraged to allow more than the actual dollar value in purchasing power, making an infusion of cash extremely important.

Dundas County Hospice, who came second in voting, are also seeing an increase in the demand for the services they provide, and how important the services are. As board member Arnold Scheerder explained to the audience during his presentation the day program is funded totally through fundraising. “Today, we’re asking for $5,000, although our annual budget for the program is $14,000. We feel $5,000 will go a long way towards providing both food and special activities for our clients for the next year. With your help, we can continue to serve our clients and their care givers.”

Every year the 100 Men program shows how, when a group of people work together, with a relatively small donation they can make a world of difference.