Recipients of the University Women's Club scholarships gather at a reception in June 2022.Handout
The organizers: Members of the University Women’s Club
The pitch: Awarding $80,000 worth of scholarships
The University Women’s Club in Toronto has been around since 1903 and it has a long tradition of community activism. In recent years the club has turned its attention to supporting young women in higher education.
“It’s kind of a really old organization that’s actually gotten their act together,” said Marianne Anderson, 60, a retired investment banker and one of the club’s 165 members.
In 2010, the organization sold its building in downtown Toronto to the University of Toronto and members now meet in the university’s Faculty Club. Proceeds from the sale helped create an endowment of a few million dollars and in 2018 the group launched a foundation to administer the money.
The endowment is being used to fund a series of university entrance scholarships for high-school girls. The club is working with guidance counsellors at 19 schools in Toronto to select nine candidates based on their academic standing and community involvement. The club also funds a scholarship for students at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit and two nominees proposed by the Children’s Aid Foundation. One of the recent recipients was Anna Lambe, an actress from Iqaluit who appeared in the 2018 film The Grizzlies and earned a best supporting actress nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.
This year the club plans to award more than $80,000 worth of scholarships in total, said Ms. Anderson who chairs the foundation. “We’re pretty convinced that we are funding a future prime minister or Nobel Prize winner,” she said. “These young women are fantastic.” She added the club keeps in contact with the recipients and hopes to provide additional support as they progress through university.
While the endowment covers the bulk of the scholarships, the club also raises more than $25,000 from members and supporters to keep the fund sustainable. “What’s so satisfying for us is that we feel this next generation is full of potential,” Ms. Anderson said. “And if we can make a difference, we’re just thrilled to do so.”
Paul Waldie