RUSSELL, Man. – Crying babies and running toddlers may be the reason few young women are on the membership rolls of the Manitoba Women’s Institute.
They feel their children may be disruptive in the monthly meetings and they have little in common with the average MWI member, who is the age of their mother or grandmother.
Helen Rigby focused on how to attract younger women in her president’s speech to the recent MWI convention.
“Our organization needs the fresh view and vigor of these young women and these women need us as mentors,” she said.
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The MWI membership has stabilized at 800 for the past five years. The use of a new category of individual member has added 50 members.
But Rigby said constitutional change alone will not keep the MWI going. She urged members to reach out to people in their community, use local newspaper reports to highlight activities and get closer to the provincial government agronomists and home economists.
One connection she would like to strengthen is with the women who organize and attend the annual Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference. The two groups last year received $500,000 under the Canada Agri-Infrastructure Program to jointly administer training programs for women and young farmers. The project highlights leadership, business management, marketing and technological skills and will continue this year.
“Let’s woo the girls of the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference,” Rigby said.
“They have youth, we have wisdom. They have energy, we have organization.”
Rigby said MWI should not become a haven for lonely rural widows. Annual meetings might be better timed for the fall than spring’s rush of calving, seeding and income tax.
“Serving tea and cookies alone won’t cut it. We have to be more visible.”
Part of that new image is the MWI’s website to be launched this month. Located on the Manitoba agriculture department’s home page at www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture will be pages of information about MWI history, purpose and goals, along with a membership form.
The most visible activity MWI is undertaking will be the national conference for WIs in Canada next year. Scheduled for Brandon, Man., June 6-10, the theme of “Up, up, away … shaping our dreams” is expected to draw 500 women. Each province holds the triennial convention once every 30 years.
