Service Creates Strong Community
We promote well-being in our community through service, education and social connection.
What We Do
One Hundred Good Women is a volunteer group that responds to short-term needs in the community as support and backup for our local social services. We serve Douglas County, Kansas. For example:
- We've collected and given blankets, sheets, bicycles, towels, musical instruments, scrubs, kids clothing, and lots more.
- At Christmas we adopt several families as well as people in special circumstances (such as the teenagers at the Community Shelter).
- We host three annual exchanges - one each for books, clothing, and accessories. You bring items, and then we sell them to someone else for $1 each. Proceeds go to a local agency.
- We do community collections of various kinds, such as adult diapers for the Council on Aging, food for Just Food, toilet paper and other personal hygiene items for the shelter.
- And whatever else comes along.
A $10 per year membership donation is suggested but not required. Pay as you can.
Join us! You'll get an irregular email newsletter with requests and announcements. Oh, and like us on Facebook, please!
Food Banks
Check out the Lawrence Journal-World's list of emergency resources to see where you can donate food.
Make a Donation
If you have goods or services to donate, contact us.
You may make a monetary donation here.
Want to make your donation for a specific cause? You'll have a chance to add a comment before you give payment information.
What You Can Do
Do you want to help but you don't know what to do? Here are ways to help the community, either through us or on your own.
Connect with us.
- Like us on Facebook and receive notifications. You will see requests quickly and in real time. You will also receive announcements without waiting for our spread-out emails. Why Facebook? Because it is quick, easy, and reaches a LOT of people. We also like to keep our emails to a minimum.
- Let us know if you have a special talent that might benefit the community through 100 Good Women. Please contact us to offer your skills.
- Sign up for our emails (and then check to make sure they're not going to spam).
Donate gift cards, Kohls cash, unused credits from returns. These can go toward the plethora of requests that we get that don't fall into the "norm".
Oh, well, and of course, money. You can do that with the button at the top of this page. For cards and credits, contact us.
Donate gift cards.
Give to the food banks.
Buy things the food banks need. What do you get for your own family at the store? Maybe buy a few extras and drop them off at your closest food bank or Just Food. Cereal is popular. So are spaghetti fixins.
Consider healthy alternatives to quick and easy foods. Also, think whether your donation is something YOU like to eat, and not just something you think is nutritious.
Toilet paper is huge. So are diapers, for babies, kids, and yes, adults.
Just Food distributes to partner agencies and Douglas County residents. 1000 E 11th St, Lawrence, KS 66046. (785) 856-7030
For additional food pantry information, check the Journal-World list of emergency resources.
Give to the Shelter.
Buy things the residents at the Lawrence Community Shelter need. They are always in need of toiletries, tampons and pads, and diapers. Shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, shaving cream, deodorant - you know, all that stuff YOU use.
When you travel, snag the shampoo, soap, conditioner, whatever is free,
Let me say this again: Diapers!
Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E 25th St, Lawrence, KS 66046. (785) 832-8864
Donate household goods like shower curtains, trash cans, utensils, etc. When someone gets a home (yay!) after leaving the Lawrence Community Shelter or Willow Domestic Violence Center, they need everything.
We will let you know when we have a family needing household goods and you can donate them! Hold onto that good stuff. It is like gold.
Contact us if you can fulfill some of those needs.
- Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E 25th St, Lawrence, KS 66046. (785) 832-8864
- Willow Domestic Violence Center, 1920 Moodie Rd, Lawrence, KS 66046. (785) 843-3333.
Donate household goods.
Requests and Needs
When someone makes a request, it goes to the board for a decision. If the board approves it, then we post it on our Facebook page and send out an email to the membership. We try to update both regularly.
Our current needs continue to be grocery cards and gas cards, household goods for the newly housed from the shelters here in Lawrence, and always new toiletries for Willow Domestic Violence Center and any toiletries for the Community Shelter.
Look for newsletters asking about household goods occasionally throughout the year.
You can also donate money and goods. Check the newsletter for more information about specific current requests.
Want to help?
- Send us a message if you have something to donate.
- Mail monetary donations to 100 Good Women, PO Box 397, Lawrence, KS 66044, or use the Donate button on this page.
- Or follow the specific instructions listed with the email requests.
We cannot currently hold onto donated items prior to a request, but please don't forget about us! If you have furniture, let us know. We will try to match it up with someone who has already requested something.
About Requests
The board of 100 Good Women reviews all requests and decides if each one is something we can help with. Then we'll let you know if we're going to take action.
- We serve ONLY Douglas County, Kansas. Requests from elsewhere will not be considered.
- We DO NOT provide money, payment of rent or utility bills, housing, or jobs.
- We DO only accept requests from case workers, social workers, and those that work with the needy in some capacity. If you wish to make a request for yourself without an agency representative, please contact a social worker or agency representative to facilitate the request process.
Please fill out the request portion with detail and a situational explanation.
Events
One Hundred Good Women holds several annual events for our members. We don't schedule regular meetings, but we do enjoy getting together. The exchange gatherings also serve as fundraisers, where we donate the proceeds of the event to a local nonprofit.
And, yes, OF COURSE there's chocolate, sometimes wine and food, and lots of good cheer. So much fun!
Watch for emails announcing the following events. Check the Facebook page, too.
- Spring—Clothing Exchange
- Summer—Accessories Exchange
- Fall—Book Exchange and Chocolate Pot Luck
- Winter—Annual Meeting
About 100 Good Women
Our Mission
We promote well-being in our community through service, education and social connection.
Our Vision
One Hundred Good Women is a not-for-profit and non-political organization embodying the spirit of altruism. We believe service creates strong community.
What We Do
Our community helps when there is a need that slips through the cracks.
For example, social workers or case workers contact us regarding specific needs, which may be new housing for someone who has left the shelter and is getting a home but needs stuff. The stuff we never think of. Shower curtain, trash can, microwave, bath towels, and more. Maybe they know of a family who needs assistance during a rough time. We will check our stash of gift cards and do our best to give them some relief. Maybe it is Christmas and we have families in need. We adopt several families and give the community many ways to help make their holidays happy and bright. The list goes on.
We are the fillers, the ones who rely on each other to help each other when there aren't other resources.
We are 500 members strong! When we get a request, members receive a notification email that something has been requested. No pressure. No expectation. But if the member has what is needed? Fantastic. Just let us know. It truly is this simple.
Our goal is to say yes. Yes to gift cards, rides, shoes, household goods, gas cards, grocery cards. With each person who donates, that yes is more and more likely.
For example:
- Clara has three young boys and has escaped an abusive relationship. She couldn't provide Christmas for her children. With the help from our community, her boys were able to open presents on Christmas morning. We have you to thank.
- A Lawrence family was homeless and finally able to get a home! They didn't have beds or bedding, they didn't have sheets and pillows and silverware. We put the request out and you came through. They now have sheets, pillowcases and beds to sleep on, as well as the supplies that make their home their home.
- A call came in from a woman who didn't have rides to chemo. The services in town were booked, but we put out the request and you came through. This isn't an everyday kind of request. This is life saving and life affirming.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS CONSIDERED AN APPROPRIATE PROJECT?
We try to respond quickly to immediate needs in the community. Our projects are non-profit, non-political, and short-term. They tend to benefit individuals or small groups. We also try not to overlap with existing social service institutions. Our mission is to respond to situations that may otherwise "fall through the cracks."
WHAT KIND OF SERVICES DOES ONE HUNDRED GOOD WOMEN PROVIDE?
We provide:
- Household goods donated by our members
- Other services donated by our members depending on need
- Emergency help with food and gas in the form of gift cards
We do NOT provide money, payment of rent or utility bills, housing, or jobs.
Some examples of past projects include:
- Installing baseboards for a woman so she could qualify as a foster parent
- Providing child care and transportation for a woman whose husband was in the hospital in Kansas City
- Participating in 2 women’s build projects for Habitat for Humanity
- Providing clothing and other items for various organizations such as Willow Domestic Violence Center, Centro Hispano, Family Promise, etc.
HOW MUCH COMMITMENT IS REQUIRED TO JOIN?
As little or as much as you can do. We recognize that all of us are busy. If you receive a phone call or e-mail asking you to volunteer or donate, and you can't do it, that's fine. This is volunteerism without guilt. This also means that you'll honor any commitments you make to volunteer your time, action or goods and services.
HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
Sign up to have your name put on the e-mail list and LIKE us on Facebook.
HOW OFTEN DOES 100 GOOD WOMEN MEET?
We have an annual Clothing Exchange and an annual Book Exchange. We also infrequently have gatherings which may include a potluck or chocolate and a short meeting. Check the Events page or Facebook for dates.
IF YOU MEET SO INFREQUENTLY, HOW DO YOU GET ANYTHING DONE?
100 Good Women is a grassroots organization. Our principal methods of communication and calls to action are through our email list and Facebook page. When there's a need for us to respond to, we request help from our members. Requests can be for things like twin bed sheets for the Lawrence Community Shelter, or gas cards for people needing transportation to and from work or doctor's appointments, or furniture for recently homeless families, and so on.
IS IT ONLY FOR WOMEN?
There are no restrictions on membership to 100 Good Women. All women and men are welcome to participate.
WHO RUNS ONE HUNDRED GOOD WOMEN?
The board of directors keeps us on track in accordance with our mission. When a situation arises where we could help, the board decides if it's appropriate. They manage the annual events (book, clothing, and accessory exchanges, annual meeting), Community Basics Collections, and other events or situations as they arise.
Board members are:
Kris Barlow
Adrienne Boyd-Akers
Yvonne Channel
Melissa Dimoush
Leslie Elkins
Andrea Hoag
Karen Johnson
Maggie Norman
Louise Pennewell
Jennifer Tucker
Contact Us
Use this form to send us an email message.
Or send us snail mail.
P.O. Box 397
Lawrence, KS 66044
And don't forget you can find us on Facebook.
Making a request?
Please use the form on our request page, so that we can get all the information we need. Note that we serve only Douglas County, Kansas, and that we do not pay rent or utility bills.