Category Archives: Club Projects

The Mentorship Directory: a blast from the past

Way back in 1989, CFUW Brantford had the radical idea of publishing a directory of local women who worked in a variety of careers and professions. These women agreed to be featured in a thumbnail article in the directory, which was distributed to schools and libraries throughout the county. They also agreed to answer students’ questions about their career paths. This was long before google was a thing, but we were mentoring women to think beyond the stereotypes.

Here’s a selection of profiles from that directory.

Significant Lives: Profiles of Brant County Women

In 1998, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of CFUW Brantford, we researched, wrote and published a book on the history of women in Brant County, called Significant Lives: Profiles of Brant County Women. (2000 copies sold). The Library and some Executive have copies if you would like to read this lovely book.

Following the publication, some of us lobbied to have the names of these women used as street names in the city.  With the help of Councillor Marguerite Ceschi-Smith, we now have  almost 20 streets named for the women.

Nova Vita’s Hope for the Holidays

CFUW Brantford members donated $1,850 to Nova Vita on December 7th, 2022.  The funds were allocated to the Hope for the Holidays initiative that supports women and children  in the shelter at Nova Vita as they navigated their way through the holiday season.
Anne Ruddell, Community Development Manager, advised us that tax receipts for 2022 donations will be sent out in the first eight weeks of 2023.
The Hope for the Holidays Committee, Bev Golden, Janet Kempster, Lin Fines and Maria Timmons would like to thank our members for their generosity.

The photo of CFUW Brantford presenting the donation to Nova Vita: from left to right:  Janet Kempster, Anne Ruddell, Nova Vita Community Development Manager, Maria Timmons and Bev Golden.