Main photo: A Huntsville Women’s Group meeting with (clockwise from left) Tanis, Sandra, June, Zelda, Carol, Margaret, Lisa, Joy, and Sue.
The Huntsville Women’s Group, a free women’s drop-in that meets weekly, is celebrating their fifth year in the community.
The group is run by four local women: Kathleen May, Joy Stott, Tanis Wilson and Sandra Smith.
“We are each dedicated to offering interesting, relevant, and fun afternoons to women, where we can socialize, teach one another, celebrate the positives about being women, and find ways to confront the challenges—together,” said group co-founder Kathleen May.
Even after five years, no one from the committee has taken any payment for their work with the group. However, May says that a dream of hers is to one day be able to pay the group’s volunteers.
One of their major goals this year is to make Huntsville Women’s Group more accessible to local women.
Two large barriers for attendees are both transportation and childcare. Each year, funding is requested in order to eliminate this barrier as May says that attendance would nearly double if women were reimbursed for expenses like babysitting and taxis. However, they have not yet been approved.
“Of course, we have loftier goals as well!” said May. “We admire the Gravenhurst Women’s Centre and envision something similar for Huntsville: a dedicated space with professionals and volunteers all working together to create a hub of women’s services, from therapists, lawyers, and nurses, to yoga and meditation instructors and wellness advocates, and anything else women may feel they need.”
Each year, the women build a calendar of events together for the season. This year the events will include drumming, scrapbooking, and DIY projects, as well as special guests who will come to the drop-in to share their experiences and expertise.
They are also bringing back their Holiday Project where gift baskets are assembled for deserving women in the community who are chosen via referral. The baskets are filled with gifts and treats collected and made by attendees of the women’s group.
“I believe that Isolation is one of the biggest problems that women face in Muskoka,” said May. “We often don’t know what resources are available, what skills we are lacking, and indeed what connections we are missing until we finally discover them. Our hope for this drop-in is to foster connections between women, help us all see we are not alone, and create a space for women to build themselves up, no matter where they start.”
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here.
0 Comments