Retired Women Teachers of Ontario

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, small groups of retired women teachers began meeting in various parts of Ontario for fellowship, and to discuss issues of mutual concern. A group in Toronto known as the Rendezvous Club organized the inaugural meeting of the Ontario Association of Superannuated Women Teachers of Ontario in April 1956 for the purpose of persuading the provincial government to raise the level of pensions for retired women teachers to the same amount as that of male teachers. The organization grew steadily over the next 20 years, introduced a unique post-hospital insurance plan in 1963, and won the government's agreement to raise the pension rates for retired women teachers in 1967. The Provincial Office was established in Peterborough in 1971, when Cora Bailey was appointed the association's first Executive Secretary. Major changes were made to the constitution in 1999, when the name of the organization was changed to the Retired Women Teachers of Ontario. It continues to operate as a support system for the special interests and well being of over 5,700 retired women teachers. Meetings, excursions and other events organized by more than 50 branches throughout Ontario provide a forum for networking, socializing, and sharing information about health, hobbies and emerging issues such as telephone fraud. The branches also support numerous charitable causes such as food banks, women's shelters, the homeless, sick children, the Salvation Army and the Canadian Cancer Society, and provide support to members who are ill, home bound or have suffered a loss in their families. In addition, the RWTO commemorates the contributions of women teachers through published profiles, donations in memory of deceased teachers, and entries in a book of remembrance.