IODE Canada

100th IODE Nova Scotia
and
120th IODE Canada Annual Meeting

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Celebrating 100 Years

IODE War Memorial Scholarship

New Deadlines for Application
Letter of Intent Due
01 October 2019

IODE Shop to Give

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For additional information

IODE Violet Downey Book 2019 Award

Read more about the
2019 Short List books.
Past award winning books

IODE RCMP Community Service Award Presented at the National Annual Meeting

Echoes

Echoes is the official publication for IODE members across Canada. Published continually since 1902,
it is issued twice each year.

View past issues of Echoes

IODE 100th Anniversary Grant
New Brunswick Social Pediatrics
Strengthening Families

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2019 Grant recipient

The Joys of Membership

By joining IODE,
you will become part of a growing community of women
who play an important role
in making a difference
in the lives of children, youth, and those in need.
Become a Member!

Questions? Contact Us

Welcome

IODE Canada is a national women's charitable organization. Women of all ages, from all walks of life and educational backgrounds, meet in local chapters for fun, friendship and community volunteerism.

Members volunteer with and for people, focusing on Children, Education and Community Services. Each IODE chapter has the independence to choose and support projects in their own community. If you have just a few hours to spare monthly, you can make a difference and form lifelong friendships.

IODE membership is many things to many people. It is this diversification that holds the interest of the members and attracts others to it. What other organization has so much to offer to so many and in such different age groups?

The main benefit of belonging to IODE is being part of a like-minded group of women who work together to improve the quality of life for those in need.

Heritage and Traditions

IODE is proud of its heritage and traditions. In 1900, Margaret Polson Murray of Montreal encouraged the formation of a federation of women to promote patriotism, loyalty and service to others.

The first chapter, Federation of the Daughters of the Empire, was formed in Fredericton, New Brunswick on 05 January 1900. Primary chapters were formed in quick succession across Canada as were junior chapters.

In 1901, the Federation was incorporated as Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire and Children of the Junior Branch. IODE was incorporated as a Canadian women's organization by a special act of the Parliament of Canada in 1917.

IODE Founder's Day Message 2020

IODE began 120 years ago on 13 January when Margaret Polson Murray, a Montrealer, sent telegrams to the mayors of Canada’s major cities asking that they invite influential women in their cities to come together to form an organization to support Canadian soldiers in the Boer War. Women agreed at a meeting called by the Mayor of Fredericton on 15 January to get together and began to raise money. With one chapter started, Mrs. Murray renewed her efforts in Montreal and formed the second chapter. Further chapters were established and IODE quickly grew across Canada. On Founder’s Day we celebrate the inspiration and tenacity of Mrs. Murray and think about the thousands of IODE women whose tireless efforts have contributed to making Canada a better place. During the past 120 years, IODE’s focus has broadened. Although supporting patriotism remains an important IODE value, we are now a charity ‘dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals through education support, community service and citizenship programs.’

Many charities were built on the voluntary labour of women and IODE is such a charity. Social and economic changes have led to more women having full time employment during the past 50 years, and with increased demands on women’s time, something had to give. Volunteer activities are the ones often left out of the busy schedule. Yet, according to a 2018 report from The Conference Board of Canada, 43.6 per cent of Canadians do volunteer work. Younger Canadians had high participation rates and those aged 55 and over contributed disproportionately to a much higher number of hours on average. Although the growth in volunteering is roughly one third of the pace of population growth, it was calculated that over 13,000,000 people volunteered in 2018! This report also values volunteer time at $27 per hour, the average hourly rate in the core non-profit sector. In 2018, IODE members’ 431,874 volunteer hours would have a value of $11,660,598! Volunteering is more than the economic value of the time: it is the participation of women who care with other people and the satisfaction of giving of ourselves to our communities to make a positive difference.

How can IODE tap into the volunteering activity of women? If there is room for volunteer time, working women with school-age children volunteer, but mostly to organizations serving children’s needs. Can IODE chapters offer activities that serve children’s needs and in which children can participate to attract these younger women to become members? LITERACY FOR CITIZENSHIP in New Brunswick is a program that increases awareness of IODE’s concern about the development of children’s values. There can be more such programs across Canada. Having students help with our community activities gives students an opportunity to fulfil their volunteering requirements at school. Maybe their mothers can be involved too. We can develop ideas for Citizenship programs that would appeal to women caring for school-age children.

What about women who have retired from their working careers? We know that these women are major volunteers of their time. We can be there for them offering an organized opportunity for volunteering in our communities. They can do as much or as little as they wish. Attendance at meeting is not required. Most people volunteer because they want to do something that makes a positive contribution to their community. That contribution through IODE can be volunteering time, donating goods or donating money or doing some of each. We have a broad scope within which to develop new ways of engaging potential new members. We have the imagination to think of doing our volunteer work in new ways that would have appeal to younger women.

We have had a successful past with a thriving membership, but we are having challenges maintaining our membership numbers. Many of the reasons for loss of existing members are natural ones. The issue we face is how to find new members. Since August, eighteen women have contacted us through our IODE Canada website expressing interest in what we are doing and in joining us as members. Although that is not a big number, these inquiries show that if women have information about us, they may well be interested in looking more closely.

How do we reach out to women in our communities? We just need to contact one, or preferably two, women at a time. We can provide them with an overwhelming amount of information about IODE. We have websites that tell the story of who we are and what we do. We have Facebook and Twitter for sharing information about our events and projects. We have Echoes issues and printed brochures that we can hand out to potential members to read at home. We can invite them as guests to our meetings or events. Our founder Mrs. Murray started from zero members! We have the advantage of having almost 2,000 members and a solid reputation as a women’s charity. We can grow our membership by individual members reaching out to women in their communities. Let’s focus on how they can have fun, meet new friends and make a positive difference. Let’s celebrate our rich history and our accomplishments and involve new members in our IODE story.

Carol McCall
National President
13 February 2020

For Additional Information and to Donate

IODE Today

Under the jurisdiction of the National Chapter of Canada IODE are provincial, municipal and primary chapters across Canada. With approximately 3,000 members across Canada in more than 200 chapters, the IODE tradition of serving children, youth and those in need continues. The name IODE was officially adopted in the 1970's. IODE Canada is a federally chartered charitable organization.

IODE Canada and our members across Canada undertake an extensive variety of charitable and philanthropic projects every year. These include financial assistance and contributions of time and effort to students, educational institutions, hospitals, the under-privileged and those in need.

IODE War Memorial Scholarship

100 Years of the IODE War Memorial Scholarship

The National Chapter of Canada IODE initiated War Memorial Doctoral Scholarships in 1918 to commemorate Canadians who sacrificed their lives for peace and freedom. Initially, bursaries were granted to children of men and women who lost their lives or who were permanently disabled while fighting for Canada. Since the first scholarships were awarded in 1921, IODE War Memorial Scholars have made important contributions to Canada and the world in medicine, science, business, politics and academia.

As World War I ended, The National Chapter of Canada initiated a living memorial to 60,000 Canadians whose lives were sacrificed. This War Memorial, approved at the 1918 Annual Meeting in Montreal, provided bursaries for university studies in Canada to children of men killed or permanently disabled in the Great War.

Immediately, a campaign to raise $500,000 began and by 1920 the first bursaries were awarded.

Each province was assigned one award of $250 a year for four years (later increased to $300). Where there was no candidate, the bursary went to another province.

In 1929, the War Memorial Fund of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire was enacted by special act (Bill 8) of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario.

The War Memorial Committee in each province chose candidates based on their school record, health and character, the war service of their father and the family’s financial circumstances. Both principal and interest of the Fund provided these bursaries until 1937. No awards were offered during the war years and bursaries ended in 1965. Scholarships based on academic excellence continued to be offered.

The War Memorial Post Graduate Scholarships began in 1921 for one college graduate from each province to spend one year at a British University. Among the first to hold this scholarship for 1922-1923 at King’s College, University of London, was Bertha M. Lawrence from Alberta.

The value of a scholarship was $1,400 until 1930 when it was raised to $1,600. Post Graduate Scholarship used only the Fund’s income. No awards were offered during the war years and when peace was finally declared, in 1946, the members of IODE decided to establish a Second War Memorial to honour the memory of forty some thousand men and women who lost their lives for Canada and in defense of freedom. The Post Graduate Scholarships from the two War Memorials Funds were originally offered in specific fields of study.

Today, there is no such restriction. Applicants must be Canadian citizens and in at least the second year of their doctoral program. Scholarships valued at $15,000 are now awarded to students attending Canadian or Commonwealth universities. A committee in the province of the candidate’s first degree makes selections and forwards nominations to the National Chapter where the final decisions are made. The National Selection Committee is comprised of five IODE members and three professors from different universities. The National Chapter of Canada IODE War Memorial Scholars have made important contributions to Canada and the world in medicine, science, business, politics and academia.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2020 - 2021 IODE War Memorial Scholarship. Complete information and application forms are available at www.IODE.ca.

Founded in 1900, IODE Canada is a national women's charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals through education support, community service, and citizenship programs.