2024 Past Events
festive dinner | december 16
international dining | november 20
On Wednesday, November 20th, a group of us gathered at The Chulo for an unforgettable dining experience! We indulged in delicious Himalayan and Nepalese cuisine. However, what made the evening truly special was the wonderful company.
The participants of the International Dining Group would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Arlene for her exceptional dedication in researching the best restaurant venues. Thanks to her efforts, we’ve been savouring scrumptious dishes from around the world.
Arlene, your passion for discovering new and exciting cuisines has truly enriched our dining experiences. A big round of applause to you—Bravo!
wellness evening | november 11
On November 11th, members enjoyed an informative and fun evening of Wellness spotlighting our own members in their area of expertise.
Leslie G. took us through the necessity, importance and the process of having a Power of Attorney for property and for personal care. She cited examples of why it is so important to get one’s affairs in order. It was so useful. Many members had good questions and we were all able to benefit from the answers.
Karen D. told us about the importance of yoga in good health. It is far more than the positions we see, but also the breathing we need to practice to achieve calm, and the attitude we need to face each day. It is certainly a useful skill in today’s fraught world.
Susan S. talked to us about inner strengths, and finding the best possible you. We were all fascinated with the Clifton Strengths Themes and will certainly try to find and develop our 5 strengths. She left us with a quotation from Judy Garland: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”
After the success of Travel Night and Women’s Wellness we hope to have more evenings spotlighting the talents of our wonderful members.
out and about - mirvish village | october 10
On a chilly October morning, UWC members gathered on Bathurst St. for an outing organized by Marianne Anderson. As we stood, on the site, where Honest Ed’s bargain emporium once thrived, Marianne delivered a scintillating lecture about the evolution of Honest Ed’s store into a Toronto empire for Edwin Mirvish.
bingo night | october 1
SPEAKER SERIES WITH ADRIANNE PIECZONKA | SEPTEMBER 9
UWC’s 2024-2025 season got off to a spectacular start on Monday, September 9, with an event combining a member get-together, a wonderful three course dinner, and a fascinating talk by Canadian soprano, Adrianne Pieczonka. Adrianne enthralled UWC members with insights into her life and career on leading opera and concert stages around the globe, accompanied by video and audio clips highlighting some of her many stage triumphs.
patio evenings | july & august
The summer flew by! Fortunately we were able to enjoy the wonderful warm weather and get together outside. Members enjoyed a couple patio nights at the Faculty Club in July and August.
scholarship reception | june 17
To say the night of June 17 was spectacular is an understatement. The Wedgewood Dining room was filled with over one hundred people including scholarship recipients, parents, friends, school staff and club members. All there to celebrate our amazing 2024 scholarship awardees and our graduating group of 2020. The room was filled with so much joy, laughter, and excitement!
The evening started with a keynote about the firsts in our UWC Toronto, chronicling the women who have been firsts in their professions in our 121 years. This led to identifying two more firsts for 2024. We were honoured to present our first D. Barbara Goldring Scholarship and the Mary Aziz Scholarship. How fitting that these two women were best friends since nursing school and have always championed women and education.
Not only did our scholarship recipients receive their award and certificate but they were also inducted into our Scholars Program. After an update of their successes, our 2020 graduates received a one-year free membership to our club, redeemable in the year of their choice, as part of our ongoing connection through the Scholars Program.
Our young women scholars presented with amazing stories of excellence, courage, perseverance, creativity and humility. It is always a delight to meet them for the first time, but the unexpected pleasure is the joy on their parents’ faces.
After the presentations everyone stayed to mingle, take pictures and meet our scholars. The pictures below sum up the evening well.
Thank you to everyone who helped to make this event such a success. It is thanks to our members who through their generous donations to our foundation make these scholarships a reality.
Please take a moment and acquaint yourself with our latest group of outstanding young women scholars. Who knows what heights they will achieve! You have given them a tremendous start!
Your hardworking scholarship committee members are Sharon A., Lily C., Susan F., Usha F., Jane H., Donna H., Susan L., Liz M., Penny V. and Chris W.
ANNUAl general meeting | may 27
Members gathered in the Faculty Club’s Upper Dining Room on May 27, 2024, for the Club’s Annual General Meeting. The busy agenda included a presentation from two members of UWC’s investment team at BMO Nesbitt Burns, a year-end report from the Board President, and some good news updates from the Directors of our Scholarship Program and our Fundraising Committee about our scholarship winners and upcoming fundraising plans. The members also confirmed and approved the Club’s new Bylaws and amended Letters Patent; these will soon be posted on the Club’s website. Patti Lee, one of the co-founders of the health and hygiene initiatives in Cambodia which are supported by the Club as its “Cambodia Toilets” project, was a special guest at the AGM. We were pleased to present Patti with a cheque for $800 raised by members for the construction of another toilet in Cambodia. Patti expressed her appreciation to the members for their generosity and then delighted us with a surprise raffle of Cambodia handicrafts and bridge books. At the conclusion of the AGM, many members moved to the Faculty Club’s pub and patio for dinner and lively conversation.
meditation morning | may 16
Our inspiring meditation session left a profound impact on my mind, and I can confidently say on the minds of the 22 people who attended. Surrounded by wood panelling and overlooking a quaint garden at the historical Friends House, Dharma Teacher Tuyen immersed participants in the practice of mindfulness. She encouraged us to integrate meditation into our daily lives, with tips on how to remain present and centered even amidst the challenges of everyday activities. Stopping briefly to return to ourselves (collect our thoughts) is much more useful than planning a long meditation, becoming overwhelmed by its length and never doing it. According to Tuyen, more reflective meditation is certainly important if needed during particularly stressful times, but it need not happen everyday. A walk, washing dishes, looking at a flower, lifting our gaze to the sky are all examples of mindful living, and when repeated at intervals during the day, will positively impact personal growth.
Throughout the morning, we respected periods of noble silence, allowing ourselves to fully absorb the practice and connect with our inner selves. These moments of quietude were some of the most powerful, providing a deep sense of peace and clarity.
We shared a delicious pot luck lunch and took part in a group discussion. The sense of community that developed in a short four hours was inspiring.
Kensington Market Walk | April 19
On April 19, an intrepid group of over 18 women braved the rain to tour Kensington market. We learned about the fascinating history evolving from Bellevue house which was built in 1815 and surrounded by parkland. From the 1850s, this land was subdivided into smaller housing lots for the growing immigrant population in Toronto. By the 1930s, 80% of Toronto’s Jewish population lived in Kensington and it had over 40 synagogues. Two exist today - the Kiever on Bellevue Square and the Minsk on St Andrew. Today Kensington is bustling with shops and restaurants with influences from around the world. The group enjoyed a lovely lunch after of Vietnamese food and interesting conversation.
SPEAKER: SHARON VATTAY | APRIL 15
On April 15, 2024, our speaker for the evening, Sharon Vattay, was welcomed by a large and enthusiastic audience of UWC members who were eager to hear Sharon’s presentation on “Toronto’s Massey Music Hall: Conservation in Practice”. Sharon, an expert in architectural history and historic preservation with the firm GBCA Architects, played a key role in the recent multi-million-dollar rehabilitation of Toronto’s world-renowned Massey Music Hall. Sharon accompanied her talk with slides showing amazingly detailed surveys, blueprints and photographs of Massey Hall before and after its stunning transformation. It was fascinating to see what the lobby looked like when it was built in staid Victorian times, then updated to 1930’s glamour, and finally rehabilitated to a new design that honours and preserves the lobby’s previous elements while incorporating up to date materials and safety guidelines. Sharon’s talk also took us inside the concert hall, to show us how the restoration of the hall’s “Moorish” plaster ceiling was accomplished.
Photographs of the beautiful stained-glass windows that have now been cleaned, repaired and restored to their former glory elicited appreciative gasps from the audience. We also learned about the construction and function of the unique passerelles that now flank the original building, giving it the circulation space it previously lacked and linking it to a new seven storey tower that provides modern audience amenities, performer spaces and administrative offices.
Sharon’s talk was fascinating and informative, leaving everyone with a longing to visit Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall to see its amazing revitalization for themselves.
international women’s day | march 8
INSPIRING CHANGE, A Celebration of Women’s Power
On March 8th, at an International Women’s Day luncheon, Prof. Mayo Moran inspired nearly 100 participants with the experiences of three Canadian “ordinary” women, and how they effectively advanced unprecedented cases against formidable odds.
In the beautiful Wedgewood room at the Faculty Club, the Trinity College Provost shared the cases of Angelique Lyn Lavallee (Manitoba), Karen Marciano (Kitchener) and Leilani Marietta Muir (Alberta).
Lavallee was eventually set free after murdering her abusive partner; Marciano, after years of litigation, won her battle against her father, whom she accused of childhood sexual abuse; and Muir was vindicated after the Alberta government sterilized her against her knowledge when she was in her teens. Through their tenacity and convictions, the women overturned laws that disadvantaged women in three key areas. The ground-breaking victories influenced similar disadvantageous laws around the world.
The magnificent International Women’s Day event fostered meaningful connections, highlighting the importance of collective action and solidarity when advancing gender equality. Surrounded by daffodils and enjoying a delicious lunch, guests vivaciously celebrated women's accomplishments while sparking conversations about continuing to strive for positive change.
Professor Mayo Moran is Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Professor of Law and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Her work is at the intersection of private and public law and focuses on the role of law in redressing historic injustice. Provost Moran has published and lectured extensively on private law, comparative constitutional law, and legal and feminist theory. Her book, The Problem of the Past and How to Fix It, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. She is also a co-organizer of “The Restitution Dialogues”, a series of transnational conversations about cultural loss and return. She teaches across public and private law including a popular course called “Ten Cases that Changed the World”.
A particular thank you goes to Prof. Mayo Moran, the guests who took part in the event, the staff at the Faculty Club for their impeccable service and great food, and the organizing committee, namely Deborah Maw, Paula Barber, Susan Gibson, Marian Beck Archbold, Wendy McCallum, Moira Hudgin and Lily Contento, for their commitment and hard work.
SPEAKERS’ SERIES: joanna poblocka & samantha mercanti | february 12
On Monday, February 12, members attended another outstanding UWC speaker event at the Faculty Club.
Joanna Poblocka, Senior Development Officer for the Toronto based Institute for Advancements in Mental Health (IAM) and Samantha Mercanti, author of Embracing Schizophrenia: My Story of Struggle, Strength, Resilience and Hope provided us with their unique perspectives on mental health issues affecting individuals and their families. Joanna introduced us to the recovery, counselling and education programs offered by IAM in its mission to support people with mental illness and to initiate changes in society leading to better mental health. Samantha then spoke movingly about her own struggles with schizophrenia. With courage and grace, Samantha described the onset of her illness when she was a teenager and the incredible ups and downs of her journey to recovery. Samantha emphasized the loving support of her family throughout her struggles, and illustrated her talk with a number of photographs and slides which showed just how important her close family was to her.
Samantha has turned her experience into a fascinating and moving book, Embracing Schizophrenia, copies of which she brought along to show interested members. Joanna’s and Samantha’s presentations left members with new insight into mental health issues as well as hope for the many ways in which individuals who suffer from mental health challenges can find support and recovery.
bingo night | february 6
Our Bingo event at The Harbord House was a huge success in terms of both fund-raising and fun-raising. Twenty six ladies joined us for the evening, which included playing Bingo, winning prizes, some drinks, dinner, and a lot of laughter and socializing.
Not only did we raise over $390, to be applied towards building a toilet for a female-headed family in Cambodia, but we also had a ton of fun! Thank you to everyone for their very kind donations, our Cambodia Outhouse/Piggy Bank/Collection Box, was stuffed full!!!
The prize table was over-flowing with a wide assortment of very interesting items. The winners, and there were many, had a very difficult time making their selections. All donations of prizes were very appreciated. Please hold on to any little treasures you find around the house, for our next Bingo event.
With all the laughter through-out the evening, it is pretty clear that Bingo will become a fairly regular event on our calendar. We will do to it again in the fall.
learn bridge in a day | february 1
On Feb 1 at 9:00am, 24 UWC and FC members entered the Upper Dining Room as “non-bridge players”, and exited at 3:00pm as “ Bridge Players”! An amazing accomplishment!
Our “Learn Bridge in a Day” event was a huge success as 24 individuals were introduced to the wonderful game of bridge. This was a very special class that is rarely offered in Toronto. We were very fortunate that award-winning teacher Josée Hammill agreed to prepare and teach the course. She patiently answered everyone’s “what if” questions and explained the basics of bridge.
These individuals are now at the beginning of what will hopefully become a lifelong bridge journey of learning, playing and socializing.
out and about: toronto reference library | january 30
On January 30, a group visited the TD Gallery at the Toronto Reference Library to see a wonderful exhibit featuring items from the Osborne Collection of Children’s Literature. We saw beautiful original illustrations, first editions, manuscripts and much more. The exhibit space is small and manageable, the curator gave a very informative talk and it is all FREE. This is the third time our group has visited this gallery. After, we enjoyed a social visit at a nearby cafe.
SPEAKER SERIES: LAURYN OATES | JANUARY 15
On January 15 we had an opportunity to further raise our awareness about the plight of Afghan women under the Taliban regime. Dr. Lauryn Oates, the Executive Director of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan), shared her deep knowledge of the situation, particularly the far-reaching and dire implications of the Taliban ban on young women’s education.
The CW4WAfghan, a thriving network across Canada, is doing incredible work to help Afghan women fight for basic rights. Among other things, the organization is now providing thousands of Afghan girls access to education from their homes. CW4WAfghan’s virtual education tools such as library resources, courses platforms and a live teaching site are giving these brave young women hope for their future.
The UWC knows the value of education, we applaud Dr. Oates and this amazing organization for their mission.