Since its founding in 2015, the Women Inspiring Women – Women’s Institute (WIW-WI) Paris group has grown steadily throughout the last decade with a commitment to empowering women, helping build a better community, and supporting families.
Tricia Henderson, who is the current President, explained the group’s roots going back to 1897, when a Canadian, Adelaide Hoodless, started the movement.
“We are a social women’s group, and we are very community-focused. We fall under the Women’s Institute umbrella, which is a provincial and national organization…operating under the same principles as the international organization… the group was founded to give women an opportunity to connect with other women in the community, and to learn about things that are of interest to all of us. This group also gives us a chance to give back to the community, like doing fundraisers,” explained Henderson.
Henderson, who has been a member for the past four years, discovered WIW-WI through friends.
“I always knew about the Women’s Institute, but of course, I thought of that stereotype where it was for older women, and that I probably wouldn’t be able to join while I was still working full time. But then a lot of my friends got involved…and I found out that they met in the evening, so that women who have full time or part time jobs and families could all come,” said Henderson. “Our focus has been to build this local branch and provide a place for women to connect and make friendships, which is really amazing to see, because when people first come, they’re not sure if they want to be part of it…and after attending a few meetings they realize the friendships they are making which they would have probably never have made otherwise.”
Recently, the WIW celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special event called ‘Not Your Average Saturday’ Women’s Retreat held at the Brantford Golf & Country Club.
“It was actually fully planned and scheduled to go five years ago to the day. And of course, it was shut down due to the global pandemic, which was very disappointing for the organizers, of course. So, we decided to revamp this for our tenth anniversary and hold a day of fun for women at every stage and age of life. We featured some guest speakers that spoke on topics that are important to women. We had a pelvic floor physiotherapist, and an inspirational guest speaker, Deb Lloyd, who is one of our own members,” Henderson noted. “We decided to raise money for the forensic nursing program at the Brantford General Hospital, which is a great cause. The national division of the Women’s Institute has also chosen to support this cause recently. It was a great day…we had over 100 women at the event and along with the speakers we had some vendors, and food.”
However, a key element of the organization is to give back to the community in various ways.
“We’re involved in the Paris Fair a little bit. We sponsor a couple classes there, and we sponsor a Paris Fair Ambassador contestant every year. We also like to get involved in various things like ‘Jingle Bells Night’ or the Santa Claus parade. We like to do a bit of fundraising and give back. We have a community giving the option at each of our meetings where members can donate either goods or money to an organization [and] we gather that up and give it to them. So, it could be the Food Bank and around Christmas time, we’ve supported Nova Vita and Crossing All Bridges…and just any sort of local organization that we feel might need our support,” she said. “Another thing that people might not know about us is that we sponsor two $500 scholarships every year to support students in our county who are going to post-secondary education. I think that’s sort of a little-known secret, but we certainly like to get the word out there and get students to apply for these scholarships that we love to give. We usually have lunch with them and get to talk to them, and quite often they come out to a meeting and follow up with us in the fall and tell us what they’re doing at school.”
However, Henderson said the need for an organization like the WIW is very important.
“There seems to be a really great need for women to have a safe place to get together and just chat and be social with others and make connections. And so just getting the word out there is a little bit tricky. And one challenge we do face is the stereotype of the women’s institutes that it’s made up of an older population, and they’re not having too many activities, but we’re trying to overcome that…we have a good mix of younger and older members. We have other smaller club meetings (along with the major one every month), throughout the month…like a craft club, a book club and a hiking club. And as the weather gets a little nicer, we’ll just have an impromptu dinner or go out to watch a movie,” she said. “Because of what we do, we are getting a stronger word-of-mouth out in the community. Somebody will bring a friend, and then that friend will come and bring another friend out…they’re quite surprised at the things we’re doing, the topics of interest that we’re talking about at our meetings and the things we are doing to help the community.”
Nevertheless, for Henderson, one of the things that appeals to her as well as other members is about simply connecting with others.
“I love getting together with the women who are members, and just getting to know them. We meet on the second Thursday of every month, from September to June [and] usually at the Paris fairgrounds. And we have a programming committee that is absolutely knocking it out of the park with programs and activities [and] getting great guest speakers for every meeting,” Henderson explained. “And our members who range from their late 20s to their mid-80s…always have a great experience spending time with each other…it’s like being in a family where you have your aunts, your sisters and your cousins and your friends…sharing experiences and just getting together to laugh and learn a little bit from each other.”
