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WHO WE ARE  

Welcome to the University Women’s Club of Toronto, a gathering place for professional, progressive, and pro-active women university graduates worldwide. Our membership includes doctors, lawyers, writers, artists, professors, educators and professional  businesswomen.

Our official clubhouse is a stately Edwardian mansion in the trendy Bloor/St. George area of downtown Toronto. We provide a gracious, amiable environment, good food, stimulating conversation, and social and corporate events; a calm, safe haven amid the stress of city life.

Currently celebrating our 105th anniversary, the University Women’s Club of Toronto represents a pleasing sanctuary for women university graduates who are like-minded in their interests and backgrounds, and in their needs to make our world a better, safer place for women.


OUR MISSION STATEMENT  

The University Women’s Club of Toronto is dedicated to providing opportunities for the growth of women through the pursuit of intellectual, cultural, corporate and social interests, in a Clubhouse that provides an educated, refined environment. This goal is rooted in the over 100-year heritage established by a small group of women who were among the first in history to graduate from university.
 

OUR BEGINNINGS


 

The first historic meeting of the UWC was held on April 23, 1903. Twenty-two women from seven universities met to discuss the founding of an organization for college alumnae. Papers were read and plans were made to meet again in the autumn, to adopt a constitution and elect officers.

In November, 1929, the UWC moved into the building at 162 St. George Street.  This house, extended and altered, has been its home ever since.

During those years, the activities and interests of the UWC have been diverse, but with a clear pattern of continuity.  The Club has always been involved with the community and its changing needs over time.  In the early days, the Club supported such causes as the creation of supervised playgrounds, the establishment of a separate college for women at the University of Toronto, and a training centre for social workers.

During WWI and WWII, money was raised for the purchase of hospital equipment and relief supplies, and our

members  were active in canteen work, preparation of surgical dressings, and other important projects. In WWII, the Club helped European university women and children, evacuated from Britain, who were guests here.  Parcels of clothing were sent overseas, and aid was given to refugees arriving in Toronto.  The Club also co-operated with other groups engaged in war work.

After the war, the UWC contributed to a fund for rehabilitating professional women in Europe.  Assistance was given to foreign students studying at Canadian universities, and to flood victims in the Netherlands.  For more than half a century, the UWC was involved with the University Settlement, giving help and support to immigrants.

At present, the UWC is involved in the Outreach Program, where scholarships are awarded each year to support university education for women.

We also take a special interest in Interval House, a shelter for battered women, and we assist  a number  of charitable organizations in the community and through worldwide programs.  We provided support and assistance after the Tsunami disaster. We continue to influence local and Federal Government, to be involved in important issues and concerns within our community and throughout our world.

OUR AFFILIATIONS

Upon joining the UWC, active members automatically become members of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) and the International Federation of University Women (IFUW).  These organizations support the education and improvement of women throughout the world. Through the University Women’s Club (Toronto) Heritage Fund, we offer student bursaries and emergency funding.

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND MANAGEMENT

  President Margaret Turvey Haig
  Vice President, Finance   Marilyn Haas
  Secretary Mary Lou Gorrie
  General Manager  Lynda Gillick
     

©2007 University Women's Club of Toronto