CFUW Stratford History
CFUW Stratford is one of over 94 chapters of the Canadian Federation of University Women. Founding CFUW members were trailblazing university graduates at a time when universities in Canada were not yet generally open to women. In 1919, a number of stand-alone University Women’s clubs decided to organize a national federation so that Canada became one of the first countries to join in the emerging International Federation of University Women (IFUW). Our shared vision was
“To promote understanding and friendship between university women of the nations of the world, and thereby to further their interests and to develop between their countries sympathy and mutual helpfulness.”
CFUW Stratford was created as a not-for-profit organization in 1954. The initial group comprised thirty women with an executive team which included Cora B. Ahrens, honorary president and Martha Stratton, president. Their initial focus was to make post-secondary education available to all women, especially those graduating from high schools in Stratford and area.
By 1960, the club was well-established and had begun its long tradition of advocacy. They continued to work to promote education and the status of women in Canada. Our first scholarships were awarded to local graduates and this commitment continues today. The executive of the Stratford Club of the Canadian Federation of University Women posed for this photograph in May 1960.
Sitting, Mary Rayner, president and a founding member; and Mrs. J.B. Lewis , recording secretary; standing, Mrs. D.B. Mackay, second vice-president; Mrs. Ross Drake, treasurer; and Mrs. P.C. Roberts, first vice-president.
During the 1960s, CFUW Stratford was pivotal in promoting the French language in local elementary schools. We continued this concentration on language in the 1970s and 1980s when club member and past president, Sharon Malvern organized a group of CFUW volunteers to teach English as a Second Language to the Vietnamese Refugees who arrived in Canada in the years following 1975. This program extended beyond teaching “survival English” to helping refugee families to more comfortably navigate their new society.
Our club contributed largely to the implementation of the pesticide bans in Ontario with the investigative research they did on the environmental impact of pesticides. President Nora Walden and advocacy member Sheila Clarke, proposed the national resolution Non-Essential (Cosmetic) Pesticides: Registration and Education – 2002 .
More recently, CFUW Stratford’s Advocacy Committee has made contributions in the areas of Climate Action both through resolutions regarding re-usable plastics within the City of Stratford and through national acceptance of its resolution Climate Emergency – Declarations and Action Plans – 2020. At the same time, our Stratford club Indigenous Issues Group also successfully advocated for the country- wide acceptance of its resolution Achieving the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action – 2020. Further advocacy included swift reaction to the long-term care crisis exposed by Covid 19. In April 2021, the club presented a report to the CFUW Ontario Council regarding the state of long-term care homes in Ontario, following the acceptance of its emergency resolution Long-Term Care under the Canada Health Act – 2020.
Today, 70 years after our founding, CFUW Stratford continues as a non-partisan organization of women working to promote lifelong education through its varied speakers, its interest groups, and especially its commitment to granting scholarships to the young women graduating in Stratford and area but also bursaries for women re-training or continuing their education.