Welcome to New Members
Our History
Welcome to IODE Laurentian! You have joined an organization with a very long and proud history.
IODE Canada was founded in 1900 when Margaret Polson Murray of Montreal encouraged the establishment of a women’s federation to promote patriotism, loyalty, and service in the wake of Canada’s involvement in the Second Boer War. The first Chapter was formed in Fredericton, with others following in quick succession across Canada. In 1901, the fledgling organization was incorporated as the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire and Children of the Junior Branch and eventually, through a special act of the Parliament of Canada in 1917, as the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire. Since the 1970s, we have been known more simply – and less quaintly – as IODE.
The story of our own Chapter, IODE Laurentian, began in 1906 when 23-year-old Lady Sybil Grey, the Governor General’s daughter, invited fifteen Ottawa women to Rideau Hall to form a local Chapter of the new Order. We are the oldest Chapter in Ottawa and the 103rd established in Canada. Our first major project was to raise the entire $17,000 needed to found the Lady Grey Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in 1910, which eventually became part of the Royal Ottawa Hospital.
During the First World War, IODE Laurentian opened a Soldiers’ Club in Ottawa that served 300 hot meals a day to soldiers in transit. We sent comforts such as tobacco, chocolate, toiletries, and knitted goods to our soldiers in the trenches and recruited local off-duty firemen to help out with knitting. We donated $2,700 for beds in the Duchess of Connaught Hospital, blankets and an operating table to The Queen’s Canadian Military Hospital in London, and $5,700 to the Prisoner of War Fund.
When the War was finally over, we shifted our efforts to help with the aftermath. We endowed the Duchess of Connaught Scholarship at the Royal Military College for the children of servicemen who had died (it now supports students at Carleton University). We set up a Veterans' Loan Fund using $2,000 raised by recycling waste paper. We equipped a ward in the Sanford Fleming Convalescent Home and did hospital visits. In 1928, we returned to our roots with the furnishing of a new Preventorium for children with tuberculosis.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, IODE Laurentian offered relief for unemployed Canadians by paying their rent and insurance premiums, and providing fuel, clothing, furniture, food, and seeds to plant gardens.
When the Second World War broke out, we ran the United Services Club in Ottawa, supported children evacuated from Britain to Canada, dispatched food parcels to help the British, and again provided care packages to Canadian servicemen. We sent gifts and comforts to our adopted ship, the HMCS Caraquet, which served in D-Day.
From 1945-54, we continued to send food packages to Britain to help adopted families and to relieve shortages while rationing continued. We also contributed to the Sorabji Fund for development in India and to the Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland.
Since the 1970s, IODE Laurentian has raised well over million dollars to support local charities, especially those serving women and children. These days, we remain just as dedicated as our founding members to helping where we’re needed most.
Our Organization
IODE Laurentian is one of over 200 IODE Chapters with members across Canada committed to its three pillars of education, citizenship and service. Reporting to IODE Canada are the Provincial Chapters. Municipal Chapters provide additional oversight in cities that have (or had) five Primary Chapters. IODE Laurentian reports to IODE Ontario which, in turn, reports to IODE Canada.
Laurentian is the oldest of the three Primary Chapters in Ottawa (the other two are Walter Baker and Lorraine). Our structure includes the following executive and officer positions:
President
Leads the efficient and effective operation of the chapter, chairs meetings, and serves as the Chapter’s official representative and spokesperson
Vice-President
Assists the President in carrying out her duties; chairs meetings in the President’s absence
Recording Secretary
Takes minutes of meetings, oversees mailings to members, maintains electronic records
Treasurer
Manages all Chapter finances, including investments, income and expenditures, bank accounts, and annual audited financial statements
Archives Officer
Maintains paper and photographic records and arranges for their archiving with the City of Ottawa
Citizenship Officer
Oversees citizenship-related activities such as receptions for citizenship courts, support for Canadian forces, the placement of wreaths at Remembrance Day ceremonies; also tracks the number of volunteer hours contributed by members for the Chapter’s annual report
Communications Officer
Promotes the Chapter’s projects and activities, oversees our website and social media
Correspondence Officer
Manages the Flower Fund; arranges for cards and flowers to be sent to ailing or bereaved members
Education Officer
Oversees scholarships and bursaries, education initiatives, and assistance to students and schools, including adopted classrooms
Services Officer
Guides members in the collection of new and used items for people in need and arranges for their distribution; also tracks the value of in-kind donations for the Chapter’s annual report
Standard Bearer
Ensures the placement of standards at chapter events and, if requested, at member funerals
In addition to these positions elected by the members, Conveners are chosen to lead all major fundraising initiatives. Various committees are struck each year to manage hospitality, finance, nominations, and other ad hoc issues. Officers and Conveners may choose to form additional committees to assist with their responsibilities.
Our Meetings
IODE Laurentian holds four business meetings each year. Our Summer Party is usually held in June, our Christmas party is in December, and our Annual General Meeting is in March.
You’ll receive the documents for the meeting by e-mail a few days in advance. The agenda for each meeting is standard: you’ll hear the President’s Report and updates on our financial situation and fundraising initiatives. You’ll be asked to approve the agenda and minutes, as well as any proposed financial expenditures, project decisions, or major new directions. You will receive the officers’ reports in your meeting package and can ask any questions relating to their activities.
When in-person meetings are held, a small bag may be circulated to collect money for the Chapter’s Flower Fund. These monies are used to pay for such things as cards and flowers for members who are ill or bereaved, IODE badges and anniversary pins, or wine for parties. Donations to the Flower Fund (usually a loonie or toonie) are entirely voluntary.
Our Fundraising Activities
How We Raise Money
IODE Laurentian raises funds through a variety of initiatives which, over the years, have included house and garden tours, a street festival, garage sales, cafe and bake sales, a road trip and e-scavenger hunt, theatre benefit nights, and bus tours. Members choose what activities they wish to undertake and create organizing committees to deliver them.
Other sources of revenue include our membership fees and ad hoc activities such as book sales, greeting card sales, raffles, interest on investments, and donations.
In addition to the monies we raise, members also donate a yearly average of $25,000 worth of new and used goods for local charities and our adopted Indigenous students’ classrooms under the guidance of the Services and Education Officers. These goods include items such as gently-used linens for women’s shelters, toothbrushes and toothpaste, or knitted hats for the neonatal units at local hospitals.
How We Disburse Money
IODE Laurentian has a number of ongoing commitments that members have voted to support every year: a bursary for Banff Avenue Community House ($500), the Marion Ruddick Award for Senior Strings at the Kiwanis Music Festival ($500), and books, clothes and other items for two indigenous classrooms we have adopted in Cat Lake in northern Ontario. We have also endowed scholarships and bursaries that are disbursed annually on our behalf by Carleton University and Algonquin College.
The designated recipients for all our remaining funds, including allocations for initiatives undertaken by other levels of IODE, are chosen and voted upon each year by our members.
Our Members’ Role
Unlike many other service organizations, IODE Laurentian is committed to keeping its membership fees low and does not require a minimum number of volunteer hours from each member. We do these things to be accessible to as many new members as possible and because we understand that people live busy lives and can only give the time they have available.
That being said, there are two fundraising activities that are considered “all hands on deck”. The House and Garden Tour needs every member – and as many of your friends as you can rally -- to staff the Tour on the big day. The New Edinburgh Garage Sale also needs all able-bodied people to help sort the donations and staff the tables. In addition to these two big events, we are all asked to contribute goodies to our bake sales, Christmas Potluck Party and the reception for the Linden House Theatre Benefit Night.
Here are some other ways you can choose to help:
Every little bit helps!
Thank you for choosing to become a member of IODE Laurentian.
Welcome to IODE Laurentian! You have joined an organization with a very long and proud history.
IODE Canada was founded in 1900 when Margaret Polson Murray of Montreal encouraged the establishment of a women’s federation to promote patriotism, loyalty, and service in the wake of Canada’s involvement in the Second Boer War. The first Chapter was formed in Fredericton, with others following in quick succession across Canada. In 1901, the fledgling organization was incorporated as the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire and Children of the Junior Branch and eventually, through a special act of the Parliament of Canada in 1917, as the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire. Since the 1970s, we have been known more simply – and less quaintly – as IODE.
The story of our own Chapter, IODE Laurentian, began in 1906 when 23-year-old Lady Sybil Grey, the Governor General’s daughter, invited fifteen Ottawa women to Rideau Hall to form a local Chapter of the new Order. We are the oldest Chapter in Ottawa and the 103rd established in Canada. Our first major project was to raise the entire $17,000 needed to found the Lady Grey Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in 1910, which eventually became part of the Royal Ottawa Hospital.
During the First World War, IODE Laurentian opened a Soldiers’ Club in Ottawa that served 300 hot meals a day to soldiers in transit. We sent comforts such as tobacco, chocolate, toiletries, and knitted goods to our soldiers in the trenches and recruited local off-duty firemen to help out with knitting. We donated $2,700 for beds in the Duchess of Connaught Hospital, blankets and an operating table to The Queen’s Canadian Military Hospital in London, and $5,700 to the Prisoner of War Fund.
When the War was finally over, we shifted our efforts to help with the aftermath. We endowed the Duchess of Connaught Scholarship at the Royal Military College for the children of servicemen who had died (it now supports students at Carleton University). We set up a Veterans' Loan Fund using $2,000 raised by recycling waste paper. We equipped a ward in the Sanford Fleming Convalescent Home and did hospital visits. In 1928, we returned to our roots with the furnishing of a new Preventorium for children with tuberculosis.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, IODE Laurentian offered relief for unemployed Canadians by paying their rent and insurance premiums, and providing fuel, clothing, furniture, food, and seeds to plant gardens.
When the Second World War broke out, we ran the United Services Club in Ottawa, supported children evacuated from Britain to Canada, dispatched food parcels to help the British, and again provided care packages to Canadian servicemen. We sent gifts and comforts to our adopted ship, the HMCS Caraquet, which served in D-Day.
From 1945-54, we continued to send food packages to Britain to help adopted families and to relieve shortages while rationing continued. We also contributed to the Sorabji Fund for development in India and to the Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland.
Since the 1970s, IODE Laurentian has raised well over million dollars to support local charities, especially those serving women and children. These days, we remain just as dedicated as our founding members to helping where we’re needed most.
Our Organization
IODE Laurentian is one of over 200 IODE Chapters with members across Canada committed to its three pillars of education, citizenship and service. Reporting to IODE Canada are the Provincial Chapters. Municipal Chapters provide additional oversight in cities that have (or had) five Primary Chapters. IODE Laurentian reports to IODE Ontario which, in turn, reports to IODE Canada.
Laurentian is the oldest of the three Primary Chapters in Ottawa (the other two are Walter Baker and Lorraine). Our structure includes the following executive and officer positions:
President
Leads the efficient and effective operation of the chapter, chairs meetings, and serves as the Chapter’s official representative and spokesperson
Vice-President
Assists the President in carrying out her duties; chairs meetings in the President’s absence
Recording Secretary
Takes minutes of meetings, oversees mailings to members, maintains electronic records
Treasurer
Manages all Chapter finances, including investments, income and expenditures, bank accounts, and annual audited financial statements
Archives Officer
Maintains paper and photographic records and arranges for their archiving with the City of Ottawa
Citizenship Officer
Oversees citizenship-related activities such as receptions for citizenship courts, support for Canadian forces, the placement of wreaths at Remembrance Day ceremonies; also tracks the number of volunteer hours contributed by members for the Chapter’s annual report
Communications Officer
Promotes the Chapter’s projects and activities, oversees our website and social media
Correspondence Officer
Manages the Flower Fund; arranges for cards and flowers to be sent to ailing or bereaved members
Education Officer
Oversees scholarships and bursaries, education initiatives, and assistance to students and schools, including adopted classrooms
Services Officer
Guides members in the collection of new and used items for people in need and arranges for their distribution; also tracks the value of in-kind donations for the Chapter’s annual report
Standard Bearer
Ensures the placement of standards at chapter events and, if requested, at member funerals
In addition to these positions elected by the members, Conveners are chosen to lead all major fundraising initiatives. Various committees are struck each year to manage hospitality, finance, nominations, and other ad hoc issues. Officers and Conveners may choose to form additional committees to assist with their responsibilities.
Our Meetings
IODE Laurentian holds four business meetings each year. Our Summer Party is usually held in June, our Christmas party is in December, and our Annual General Meeting is in March.
You’ll receive the documents for the meeting by e-mail a few days in advance. The agenda for each meeting is standard: you’ll hear the President’s Report and updates on our financial situation and fundraising initiatives. You’ll be asked to approve the agenda and minutes, as well as any proposed financial expenditures, project decisions, or major new directions. You will receive the officers’ reports in your meeting package and can ask any questions relating to their activities.
When in-person meetings are held, a small bag may be circulated to collect money for the Chapter’s Flower Fund. These monies are used to pay for such things as cards and flowers for members who are ill or bereaved, IODE badges and anniversary pins, or wine for parties. Donations to the Flower Fund (usually a loonie or toonie) are entirely voluntary.
Our Fundraising Activities
How We Raise Money
IODE Laurentian raises funds through a variety of initiatives which, over the years, have included house and garden tours, a street festival, garage sales, cafe and bake sales, a road trip and e-scavenger hunt, theatre benefit nights, and bus tours. Members choose what activities they wish to undertake and create organizing committees to deliver them.
Other sources of revenue include our membership fees and ad hoc activities such as book sales, greeting card sales, raffles, interest on investments, and donations.
In addition to the monies we raise, members also donate a yearly average of $25,000 worth of new and used goods for local charities and our adopted Indigenous students’ classrooms under the guidance of the Services and Education Officers. These goods include items such as gently-used linens for women’s shelters, toothbrushes and toothpaste, or knitted hats for the neonatal units at local hospitals.
How We Disburse Money
IODE Laurentian has a number of ongoing commitments that members have voted to support every year: a bursary for Banff Avenue Community House ($500), the Marion Ruddick Award for Senior Strings at the Kiwanis Music Festival ($500), and books, clothes and other items for two indigenous classrooms we have adopted in Cat Lake in northern Ontario. We have also endowed scholarships and bursaries that are disbursed annually on our behalf by Carleton University and Algonquin College.
The designated recipients for all our remaining funds, including allocations for initiatives undertaken by other levels of IODE, are chosen and voted upon each year by our members.
Our Members’ Role
Unlike many other service organizations, IODE Laurentian is committed to keeping its membership fees low and does not require a minimum number of volunteer hours from each member. We do these things to be accessible to as many new members as possible and because we understand that people live busy lives and can only give the time they have available.
That being said, there are two fundraising activities that are considered “all hands on deck”. The House and Garden Tour needs every member – and as many of your friends as you can rally -- to staff the Tour on the big day. The New Edinburgh Garage Sale also needs all able-bodied people to help sort the donations and staff the tables. In addition to these two big events, we are all asked to contribute goodies to our bake sales, Christmas Potluck Party and the reception for the Linden House Theatre Benefit Night.
Here are some other ways you can choose to help:
- Bring used books to sell at meetings or luncheons, or buy ones that are there
- Make something that could be raffled at a meeting (cakes, pies, and bread are popular)
- Solicit a girt certificate from a local restaurant or business that could be raffled
- Donate any of the new or used goods suggested by the Services or Education Officer for local shelters or our adopted classroom in Cat Lake
- Donate gently used items for our garage sale
- Bake your favourite deliciousness for our bake sale
- Volunteer to serve on an event organizing team
- Sell sponsorships or ads for one of our fundraising events
- Buy or sell tickets to one of our events
- Follow IODELaurentian on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and like our posts, especially those promoting our fundraising activities
Every little bit helps!
Thank you for choosing to become a member of IODE Laurentian.