Georgian Bay Gals Give holding spring giving event Monday

A philanthropic women’s group is hosting its spring giving event Monday at the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Penetanguishene.

Slated to run from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Georgian Bay Gals Give fundraiser gives participants a chance to mingle, enjoy a drink and hors d’ouevres as well the important task of raising some much needed funds for local non-profits.

This time around, the group has chosen Georgian Bay General Hospital. The hospital is currently raising funds for a number of initiatives, including an MRI machine, since capital costs are not covered through provincial funding.

“So far, the funds raised are around $40,600 for GBGH,” said Michelle Mink, a founding member of the group, which is also known as GGG for brevity.

“It looks like we might have at least 80 members join us from our Georgian Bay Gals Give membership for the event.”

The initial launch of Gbay Gals Give was June 7th, 2018 at the Midland Golf and Country Club with members donating $24,000 to Georgian Bay General Hospital.

Since then, the group has supported a number of worthy causes, including the CLH Foundation, Hospice Huronia, the Guesthouse Shelter, Huronia Transition Homes,  the Georgian Bay Cancer Support Centre, Warm and Cozy and the Georgian Bay Food Network.

And what started out with relatively modest intentions five years ago has quickly blossomed into a group that now features more than 200 women, who each commit to donate $200 twice annually to the chosen charity.

“This is our 10th giving event,” Mink told MidlandToday. “Hard to believe this all began in 2018. Our membership has, since its inception, given back $325,000 to various charities in our community. Isn’t that incredible."

Mink said anyone interested in joining “this amazing group of women” is more than welcome, by contacting them at [email protected] or through their visit website.