The May Court Club of Ottawa was founded in 1898 by Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General. In a time when there were no social safety nets, she wanted to provide young socialite women with the ability to help other women and their children who were in need. Early activities of the Club included establishing clinics, educational services, and knitting for the war effort. As the needs of the community changed so did the projects undertaken by the Club. For a look at the history of the Club go to Our History page.
Are you interested in becoming a member and being part of this dynamic group? Check out our Become a Member page for details.
Our Annual Report provides details of our activities as well. Click Annual Report 2023-2024 to see the latest issue.
To all members of The May Court Club of Ottawa from the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre
Thank you for your generous donation to our Stuffed Sock Project this holiday season and thank you to Patricia Sanders for partnering with us to coordinate these donations. Every year for the last seventeen years, we at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre have given out hundreds of pairs of heavy, woolen socks to some of our clients who need them the most. The pairs of warm socks are stuffed with toiletries, food items and other useful items.
For many years, the May Court Club has been extremely generous with contributions to this project. This year, we appreciate the abundance of your donations; we filled over one hundred socks! Beyond that, we were able to double up on items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and even include an extra pair of socks in each bundle. Thank you so much for your ongoing generosity in helping us carry this fun annual event that helps so many people have a bit of cheer at an otherwise cold time of the year.
The staff at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre is grateful to the May Court Club for their donations of warm socks.
Street Outreach Society (formerly Good Neighbours Ottawa)
Each Monday morning the sorters at the Bargain Box put aside any clothing and footwear not suitable for sale in the store but likely of use to the street people of Ottawa. A volunteer from SOS (Street Outreach Society) comes every second Wednesday to pick up the donations from Patricia Sanders. To the SOS personnel, Patricia is the face of the Bargain Box and as an extension to the May Court Club of Ottawa.
This name better reflects our mission and collaborations with many meaningful organizations. We still perform large scale weekly outreach walks bringing food and clothing to those experiencing chronic street homelessness and our scope has also increased towards major coordination with other street outreach groups and shelters while promoting public and political awareness, spurring action to transition street folk into compassionate, supportive care and housing. SOS is comprised entirely of volunteers engaged in myriad activities to this end and the Bargain Box is considered a valuable part of this Society.
OSCAR
The Old Ottawa South Community Association Review (The OSCAR) highlighted the May Court Club of Ottawa and our 125th anniversary Celebration Luncheon recently. View the article here.
Daytime Ottawa on Rogers TV interviewed our President, Donna Shields-Poë (2022-2024).
Featuring the May Court Club of Ottawa
In March 2022, the local magazine ‘Neighbours of Old Ottawa‘, published an article featuring the May Court Club. View this interesting account here.
June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism (group) for 2019
I am very pleased to share that The May Court Club of Ottawa was chosen as one of the recipients of the June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism (group) for 2019. The award was presented virtually by the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, Lisa MacLeod on January 27, 2021. The May Court Club of Ottawa has a long history of service, often caring for the vulnerable members of our community. We were founded in 1898 by Lady Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General of the time. She wanted to find a way for young women of leisure to return service to the community. We’ve come a long way from those days but our commitment to service remains the same. Lady Aberdeen would be proud.
Currently our major contribution is to provide, free of charge, the property of Hospice Care Ottawa’s May Court Hospice. Along with providing all the physical property maintenance costs, many of our volunteers also work with the staff as they provide outstanding end-of-life care to individuals as well as supporting their families. We also provide financial assistance through scholarships to two qualified nurses entering the first or second year of study at an approved Ontario University and to a qualified student entering the first or second year of the Master’s Program in Information Studies at the University of Ottawa. Pre-pandemic we also awarded grants to small community organizations, provided a nutrition program at six community houses, and operated the lending library at the Civic Hospital.
Our volunteers spend thousands of hours in working to bring these projects to fruition including operating the May Court Bargain Box on Laurier Street which is our largest source of funds. We also normally hold a number of fundraising events throughout the year. We look forward to reintroducing these activities again after the restrictions to combat COVID transmission have passed. If you would like to support the May Court Club of Ottawa, please go to our website at www.maycourt.org.
Christine Beelen
President, 2020-2022,
The May Court Club of Ottawa