In this Issue

• Message from Teresa Habs, Past President, Ontario Council
• Message from Sandra Shaw, President 2024-2026, Ontario Council
• 2024 Ontario Council AGM
• Carolyn Day Award
• Membership Challenge Awards
• Advocacy Survey 2024
• CFUW National AGM July 22nd - July 24th, 2024
• Club Anniversaries
• Club News & Events

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I have been a member of CFUW since 2008 when I joined CFUW Barrie and District. I was planning to retire from RBC after 35 years and knew it was time to join a group of women who liked Advocacy, Education and camaraderie! From the first meeting I knew I had met a group of welcoming and caring women involved in their organization and their community!

In 2013 I campaigned for my club to take on OC AGM 2014 and what a TEAM we became – it was one of the best experiences I’ve had, and it showed me just how talented and resourceful CFUW women are. Ever since then, I’ve tried to exemplify just what a TEAM can do -TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE!

In 2015 I joined the OC Board as the Newsletter Editor as a replacement and then for another 2 years in 2016.  I then took on the role of Treasurer for two terms. When asked to run for President, in 2020, I said Yes! After working with the clubs as Treasurer, I felt like I knew many of the members across the province and could call upon them when needed, and I've never been disappointed!

As for the Board members I’ve worked with as President – a big thank you! There have been many times when I reached out for advice and help, and everyone always responded with grace and professionalism. It’s now time to welcome a new President and her Board and I know that OC members will do the same.

As the poet Maya Angelou wrote “People will not always remember what you said or what you did but they will always remember how you made them feel”; that is exactly how I feel as I move on from the OC Board!



To our OC Members: Thank you all for everything you do for CFUW!

Teresa Habs

A Message from Sandra Shaw

As I laid out in my speech to the delegates at the AGM, I believe Ontario Council has major obligations to just four parties:

1. the women and girls of Ontario - to fight for gender equity in all matters where Ontario Council can effect change or provide support, while remaining non partisan;
2. to the Ontario Council Clubs and their members – to support them, through guidance, policies, lifelong learning opportunities and sharing and honouring best practices;
3. to Ontario Council’s own Committee Chairs for Advocacy, Legislation, Education and Status of Women and Human Rights, Membership, Communications, Finance and ad hoc committees – by encouraging collaboration and innovation in efforts – all the while working on a shoestring budget; and
4. to its Regional Directors – to support their dedication and hard work with the Clubs, acknowledging and supporting their innovations in keeping Clubs connected and in talking through Club challenges and identifying solutions.

I intend to work very hard to keep these four groups in the forefront of everything we do.

I would like to thank those Executive members who are leaving us – Teresa Habs for her leadership as President of Ontario Council over the last two years, Helen Robb, Chair Education, Susan Freeman, Regional Director (RD) for Central Ontario and Anne Cordon, who in her last role with the Council was RD for Eastern Ontario.

We would also like to thank Joyce See, RD for Ontario South, and Elana Freeman, RD for Ontario West for continuing in their roles while candidate RDs come up to speed with the Council and the RD role.

Ingrid Sproxton will be stepping back from (but not entirely out of) her role as Communications Chair while Carol Sproule leans further in.

Your elected Ontario Council Executive (2024-2026) is listed below. I look forward to the new year and working with these talented and dedicated volunteers.

Summer is the time when various boards take a rest and re-energize for the work that will face them in the Fall. Ontario Council will still be open for business throughout the summer but will be working quietly, setting up projects, exchanging ideas amongst our Board members for innovation and best practices, finalizing reports, designing the Speakers Series for the upcoming year, holding our government accountable for its actions and attending to Clubs’ needs. If you or your Club has any specific requests during the summer, don’t hesitate to contact me. If there are ideas you would like the Council to explore, send them in an email.

Have a happy, healthy summer, filled with opportunities for pleasant memory-making. Spread kindness and embrace the uniqueness in everyone you meet.

2024 Ontario Council AGM

Wasn't that a party? Our 2024 AGM in Windsor was one for the history books - our first in-person AGM since 2019. It was so good to be back together again after five long years!

2024-2026 CFUW Ontario Council Board

President: Sandra Shaw

Secretary: Heather Conlin

Treasurer: Anne Groulx

Communications: Carol Sproule

Regional Directors:

RD Ontario West: open

RD Ontario South: open

RD Ontario North: Allison Dufour

RD Ontario Central: Marg Esaw

RD Ontario East: Marlene Starkman

RD Ontario Huron: Elisabeth Sachs

Standing Committee Chairs:

Advocacy: Kathy Wosnick

Education: Wendy L. Taylor

Legislation: Niki Carlan

Membership: Carol Sproule

Status of Women: Linda Davis

Carolyn Day, a Past-President of Ontario Council, 1998-2000, was the Environment, Clean Water and Great Lakes Policy Advisor from 2000 until her death in 2018. What started as a concern about Walkerton turned into a passion and an extensive knowledge base. During her time, she wrote more than 40 briefs and letters, attended many meetings on our behalf and was even called by government on some occasions. This award has been created in her honour.

Thank you to the Clubs which submitted candidate projects for the Carolyn Day Award. Although the parameters upon which this award is judged change slightly from year to year, the impact a club’s project has on its members and the public, along with the sustainability of the project and whether it can be easily transferred to other clubs are important in adjudicating the entries.

Please read the complete announcement for the 2024 Carolyn Day Award here.

The runner up this year is Haliburton Highlands. Members encouraged the Club to include as one of this year’s speakers, someone who could inspire the members to make small differences in their individual behaviour which would have an impact on the entire community.

The winner of this year’s Carolyn Day Award of $500.00 is CFUW Perth and District. P&D hosted an evening of learning and inspiration on the topic of native plant gardening and ecosystem restoration. The focus was to raise awareness about the importance of native plants in supporting not just native pollinators, but all members of native ecosystems. The event was open to both the Public and Club members.

Congratulations to CFUW Perth and District!.

What was working for the clubs who entered the challenge?

• Personal invitations to friends, neighbours, and relatives to come with you to experience a CFUW meeting.
• Media coverage (newspapers, newscasts, social media, etc.)
• Hosting public events such as author presentations, book sales, booths in malls to increase visibility.
• Creative membership drives such as a free trial membership.
• Inviting our scholarship winners and their mothers/mentors to a social event, recognizing their achievements. Those mothers/mentors are all potential new members as their children leave the nest!
• Embracing and displaying the new CFUW branding.
• Engaging new members immediately through buddy systems, personal calls, special orientation meetings, immediate involvement in activities.
• Providing interesting and engaging programs and interest groups for the members.
• Advocacy that connected to the needs of the community, province or country through speakers and actions.
• Remember: SUCCESS breeds SUCCESS!

It was a difficult choice to pick only two winners. Congratulations to this year's recipients.

2024 Membership Challenge Winners

• The Recruitment Award goes to CFUW Haliburton Highlands who increased their membership by 21% this past year.

• The Retention Award goes to CFUW Peterborough. At the start of COVID, they had less than forty members. Not only did they retain most of those members, but over the past five years, this club has worked diligently to increase their overall membership by 40%.

The results of the 2024 Advocacy survey are being tallied after a small delay due to data cleansing. Preliminary findings were presented at the AGM and you can find a copy of this presentation here.

This presentation will be followed by a full report in the next edition of OC News. Ontario Council looks forward to working with the conclusions of the survey which will partially guide its advocacy efforts in the coming four years. Many thanks to all who participated and for the work all of you do throughout the year, to provide a better place for women and girls in our province, our nation and the world.

You may also be interested in reading the reports from Ontario's delegates to this year's UNCSW conference. The report has been posted here on our website.

Outgoing Advocacy Chair, Sandra Shaw

CFUW National AGM - July 22nd - July 24th, 2024

Five Ontario clubs are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year. Happy Anniversary to:

Ontario North

CFUW Haliburton Highlands (2004) - 20 Years

Ontario South

CFUW Mississauga (1954) - 70 Years

CFUW Oakville (1949) - 75 Years

Ontario East

CFUW Belleville and District (1939) - 85 Years

Ontario West

CFUW Cambridge (1954) - 70 Years

As always, there's lots going on with Ontario Clubs! Please send your club news & events to communications@cfuwontcouncil.org.

CFUW Belleville and District - Town and Country Garden Tour June 22, 2024

CFUW Perth Home and Garden Tour - July 6, 2024

Town Volunteer Recognition for CFUW Perth

Perthites were out in force at the Volunteer Recognition event sponsored by the Town of Perth on the evening of Monday May 26th. Mayor Judy Brown honoured Perth Volunteers, with Sue Brown and Elaine Brazeau representing CFUW Perth & District. They were thanked for the contributions by the mayor and Michael Touw, CAO of Perth on behalf of the county.

You can get all the details about upcoming club events on the OC website at Club Events | CFUW Ontario Council (cfuwontcouncil.org).

And catch up on the latest club news at Club News!

Please share your club's social media posts to

Ontario Council's Facebook and Instagram accounts!