VERO BEACH — Acclaimed inspirational speaker and best-selling author, Jennifer Read Hawthorne was the keynote speaker at the Indian River Impact 100 Kick-off Breakfast at Oak Harbor, sponsored by Wilmington Trust. Hawthorne, now a Vero Beach resident, gave an engaging presentation based on her latest book, Life Lessons for Loving the Way You Live. Sharing her secrets on the connection between attitude and success, and preparing for whatever life throws at you, her talk was the perfect beginning for what is sure to be another successful year for Impact 100.
Impact 100 is a great example of what can happen when a group of philanthropic women unite to focus on a common goal. The group grew out of an initiative initially known as Women and Philanthropy and formed as Indian River Impact 100 in December 2008; the fund is administered through the Indian River Community Foundation. Its success became evident when the initial goal of 100 women donating $1,000 each, was exceeded by more than double that amount. As a result, transformational grants of $102,500 each were given to the Treasure Coast Food Bank, for expansion of the “Backpack Buddies Program” and to CASTLE, to help purchase a new Indian River Family Service Center.
Membership in Impact 100 has only two requirements – donate $1,000 and cast a vote (in person or by absentee ballot) for one of the finalists at the annual meeting, currently scheduled for April 19. The organization is completely volunteer driven, and all money raised goes directly into the transformational grants. While not obligatory, members are welcome to serve on the grant, public relations, membership or education committees, joining other dynamic women who are working to transform the community in significant and meaningful ways.
The amount of the 2010 award(s) is dependent upon the number of people who join Impact 100 and the process is ongoing. For additional information, visit www.impact100ir.com. {igallery 94}