The Association of May Court Clubs of Canada

it is an organization that includes two members from each active May Court Club and an Executive Committee elected from among the past presidents of the various Clubs
it meets twice each year, once in the Fall and again in the Spring when the Clubs have, in turn, the honour of hosting this annual event
it provides an opportunity for the participating Clubs to share their successes, ask advice about their challenges and to discuss their common projects.

it is a dedicated group of women whose mission is to improve the lives of those in their community who are less fortunate than themselves
its members raise funds through various projects among which are thrift shops, house tours, Christmas tree raffles and fashion shows and galas
it uses the money raised to provide financial assistance to needy organizations or individuals, with particular emphasis on health, high risk children and youth and school nutrition programs
it is also a group of volunteers who give 1000’s of hours each year to make all their projects possible and productive, but also takes time for social events.

it began on the eve of May Day, 1898, Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor General, invited the young ladies of Ottawa to a garden party at Rideau Hall. There she encouraged them to give of their time, their money and their enthusiasm to helping those less fortunate than themselves.
the first members of the May Court Club of Ottawa were the 100 young ladies at the Garden Party. Agnes Hamilton, daughter of the Anglican Bishop of Ottawa, was crowned May Queen and seventeen of the young ladies were appointed to her “court” to direct the Club in its first endeavours. More than 100 years later the work of the first womens’ service club in North America continues.

there are now nine May Court Clubs in Canada, all in Ontario and spanning the region from Windsor in the south west to Ottawa in the north east, and always with hopes of expanding to other regions
in 1934 the “Affiliation of May Court Clubs” was formed with clubs from Windsor and London joining Ottawa in a common enterprise
in 1965 the Association of May Court Clubs was incorporated. By that time there were May Court Clubs in Chatham, St. Catharines, Oakville and Kitchener-Waterloo and Brockville. Barrie established a May Court Club in 1970.
today these nine May Court Clubs have a combined membership of over 1500 women who annually raise over $700,000 through their various projects, are able to give over $1,000,000 in financial aid to their communities and donate over 130,000 hours of voluntary work to help those in need.

Links to the various May Court Club websites are posted below
for Clubs that do not have websites we offer more information about their activities on this site
if you think that a May Court Club would be an asset to your community and if you would be interested in establishing such a club, please send an e-mail to info@maycourtclubsofcanada.org for further information.