Women's Initiatives Committee- Our Mandate

The women’s initiatives committee is responsible for identifying hidden and neglected issues that confront women in our city. The group identifies those issues related to health, poverty, women’s services and education and assesses how the rotary club of Toronto can make a difference. Women’s Initiatives Committee meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 12 noon. 

 

Women's Initiatives Committee Annual Report 2017-2018

We had a very productive year.
 
During this term we were pleased to receive a grant for the Immigrant Women’s Integration and Leadership Program (IWIP) of $50,000.00.This will assist IWIP in building a virtual and interactive classroom to reach even more women and families to bring knowledge to them of community programs in the downtown core and nearby. The award was presented on International Women’s Day at The National Club. Our Speaker that day was Paulette Senior President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. This was a proud day as WIC was acknowledged not only by the speaker but by the Club for our innovative projects and approach in the city with the backing of course of The Rotary Club of Toronto.
 
We had on site visits in this term with Interval House to see where our $7,500.00 grant helped in the shelter. We supported Walk a Mile in Her Shoes with more funding and raised dollars from club members and more walkers. This grass roots movement is now global in the education of men and boys to end violence against women. We in our continuation of review of our Symposium partners from 2017 reached out to Elizabeth Fry. We had onsite visits in December and another meeting with our committee in January 2018.We decided to support their Talk and Listen Support Line. This is a niche product for a very special group of women and at a time in their lives where there is little to support them. We want to give this a more in depth analysis in 2018/2019.
 
We also supported Red Door (women and children) Shelter with a $3,500.00 grant to assist in their Moving Program. This transitions women and children to their new home. Every dollar counts here as this is a constant part of their program.
Our members  Chantelle  McDonald(outgoing Chair), Marcy Berg, June Brown, Marg Stanowski, Heather Hetherington,  Suzanne Boggild, Joyce Westlake,  Jane FitzGerald (Secretary) kept our committee energized  and ready for 2018 challenges. Mary Lach served as our dedicated Board Liaison.
 
Jane FitzGerald, Secretary