Fonds 0371 - Grande Prairie Women's Institute fonds

The Grande Prairie Women's Institute is a local branch of the Alberta Women's Institute. The A. W. I. is part of the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada, which is itself a member of an international organization, the Associated Country Women of the World. W. I. is an educational organization with the goal of giving women opportunities to engage in national and international interests. Each individual W. I. club works to improve services for women and children in their local community. G. P. W. I. is located in A. W. I. District 1, the Peace River District, in the South Peace Constituency. The Grande Prairie Women's Institute was established on September 28, 1924 during a meeting in Mrs. L. B. Yule's home. Ten Grande Prairie women listened to speeches on the work of Women's Institutes by Mrs. J. Beaubier, President of Alberta Women's Institute and Mrs. William Stewart, a Women's Institute director from Peace River. The first president of the branch was Mrs. C. Graban. As of 2009, the G. P. W. I. was still in operation despite declining membership. Throughout its more than 80 years of operation, the G. P. W. I. has engaged in the provision of numerous welfare services to the people of the Grande Prairie area and beyond. G. P. W. I. has assembled food and clothing hampers, given aid to local schools, visited at hospitals, provided aid for local families in need, helped start and run the Grande Prairie library, helped start and furnish the Grande Prairie town rest room, arranged preschool and baby clinics, provided prizes for local competitions, participated in war work and overseas relief efforts, established a hostess hut for soldiers in Grande Prairie's Basic Training Camp, ran a maternity waiting room for expectant mothers from outside of Grande Prairie, contributed to Unitarian Service parcels, catered numerous events, organized and participated in fundraising efforts, and sent donations to numerous worthy causes. G. P. W. I. also has a strong social component. Each meeting had a program which could consist of a variety of activities including talks on various subjects, musical presentations, spelling matches, or outings. The group also arranged events including teas, markets, dances, and tours, participated in handiwork courses and exhibitions, and sent delegates to provincial conventions and constituency conferences around and outside the Peace River country. In 1941, G. P. W. I. started a radio news program over CFGP that continued into the 1960s. The Women's Institute motto of "For Home and Country" is seen in action through the group's social and service activities.