Women's Institutes
look toward renewal
• The group has lost its
pioneer spirit and tends
to react to issues rather
than initiate new ideas,
says the president.
BY BARBARA DUCKWORTH
WESTERN PRODUCER STAFF
OLDS, Alta. — As the Federated
Women's Institutes of Canada approaches
its centennial in 1997,
members are looking at ways to re-
Linde
new their organization and fill it
with vitality.
The group has lost its pioneer
spirit and tends to react to issues
rather than initiate new ideas, said
the president.
" If we are to grow'we are going to
have to make some changes or we
will cease to exist," warned Jacquie
Linde at the annual Alberta
Women's Institutes convention.
While friendships keep the organization
going, women's institutes
across
the country
worry about
their future as
members age
and fewer
young women
join because
of other committments,
she
said.
Part of the
problem has been trying to offer
something for everyone to keep
members interested. The result is a
feeling of being stretched too tar,
she told delegates.
" If our organization was growing
at a steady pace each year we would
have no problems. But like most
groups, we lack members and the
° m e mKb e r s TIME and c we^ vp o > m m . t m e n t „ ^
said.
At the national level, the
women's institutes had four strategic
planning sessions this year to
reinvent themselves and set goals
and priorities.
Pressure government
One of the main priorities of the
national group is to flesh out a
campaign to pressure the government
for a national food policy.
Members will be provided with
questions and background information
to lobby government representatives
to show they are seri-.
ous. Canada can't survive if it loses
its ability to feed itself, said Linde.
Another long- range priority will
be children's issues. This will cover
laws affecting minors, education,
safety, abuse, children in developing
countries, culture and affects of
media violence. New program
models will be developed for distribution
to the provinces.
These ideas cost money and because
of declining membership,
fewer government grants and low
return on investments, the national
group's budget is running a
deficit. To rescue the group members
have set up the bail out buckets
( BOB) campaign, led by a
committee called " find us some
money."
Beryl Ballhorn, Alberta past-president
and national representative,
said many local groups are
successful fundraisers who donate
the money to clubs and charities
but forget to support their own organizations.
With the campaign,
which has a goal of $ 1 per member
a year, the groups hopes to alleviate
some of its financial troubles.
The national group has also developed
a mission statement saying:
" The Women's Institute is an
organization that focuses on personal
development, the family and
community action."
