Member Spotlight: Lauren Regina

During June of 2018, I was scrolling through my Facebook page when one post, above anything else I’d read and seen that day, caught my attention. Pictured was a large group of women surrounding an oversized check held by representatives of Hopeworks, a local Camden charity. The check was in the amount $74,000! I studied the photo and reread the post several times and after a few seconds I said to myself, I’m going to join this group!

Two months later, while attending a local community event, I was introduced to a polished and polite woman named Nancy. After talking awhile, and hitting it off, she asked me if I ever heard of Impact100. I answered “YES!” and that I wanted to join although I didn’t know how. Unbeknownst to me, Nancy was a founding member of Impact100 South Jersey and the chairwoman of the Membership Committee. Fate was definitely at work so I joined that year, after attending an information meeting that Nancy told me about.

How did I know I would join Impact100 South Jersey, after only seeing one Facebook post? Well, we have all heard the old adage before, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Studying the picture I noticed the ladies of Impact100 South Jersey looked interesting, accomplished, joyful, and the type of women I wanted to meet. Additionally, the representatives of Hopeworks ‘N Camden appeared honored and proud to be receiving such a large grant validating their hard and vital work, and insuring it would continue in the future. But above all, the $74,000 check impressed me!

Who hasn’t dreamed of being able to take out your checkbook and write a huge check to a worthy cause or be able to solve a need in your community with just your signature and a smile? As a charitable person, I certainly have. But alas, like most, I don’t have the ability to write such an enormous check to any charity. This is why collective giving is so magical. When you join Impact100, your small donation gets combined with all the other members’ and voilà — a huge amount of money is generated! And the impact on the charity receiving such a large grant is exponentially greater than if I had given them my small singular donation.

I’m proud to say that I am a member of Impact100 South Jersey. The women I have met through this group are diverse, inspirational and accomplished. And I’m proud of the work we do. As much as I was impressed with the $74,000 Impact100 South Jersey awarded in 2018, this past June we awarded $100,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland and Salem Counties, $27,500 to Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey and another $27,500 to Ronald McDonald House of South Jersey! (That’s $155,000 total!) Our membership grew from 2018 to 2019, increasing the amount of money we awarded to Southern New Jersey charities. And we hope to find more like-minded women to join us and award even more money in 2020!

If you are intrigued with the concept of collective giving come to an Impact100 Information Session and check out our website. We are actively accepting new members and we would love to have you be part of our growth and giving!