PEIThe P.E.I. Women’s Institute is launching a new branch in Cornwall, which will include members of the existing Confederation Branch that is focused on international students.New branch will include members of an existing chapter for international studentsMarilee Devries · CBC News · Posted: Sep 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoWhen the Cornwall branch of the P.E.I. Women’s Institute launches, it will integrate members of the existing Confederation Branch. (Submitted by Sheila Gallant)A century-old institution is trying something new. The Prince Edward Island Women’s Institute is launching a branch in Cornwall. “It’s women supporting women, and that’s what we do,” said Sheila Gallant, a past president of the P.E.I. Women’s Institute and current president of the organization’s Confederation Branch, which is focused on international students. In fact, the Confederation Branch is relocating to the fast-growing community west of Charlottetown to be integrated into its new chapter. A chapter for international studentsGallant said she was inspired to create the Confederation Branch three years ago, when she was approached by an international student at a WI information session for the public.”[She said] ‘Can international students become involved with the Women’s Institute?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely,'” said Gallant. “I don’t think it’s an area that was ever tapped into before.”The Confederation Branch of the P.E.I. Women’s Institute was created to support and include international students studying on the Island. (Submitted by Sheila Gallant)She said the response was overwhelming. “What I was hearing from the international students is, ‘We want to learn about the Island culture. We want to know what it’s like to live on Prince Edward Island. We want to be able to make connections. We want to be able to give back to P.E.I. for taking us as students.’ So there was an incredible amount of interest.”Keen to volunteerMayté Luna was one of those interested students. She recently graduated from Holland College’s architectural technology program, but back when she first moved to P.E.I. from Mexico to pursue her studies, she was looking for opportunities to volunteer and build community in P.E.I.Mayté Luna first heard about the P.E.I. Women’s Institute about a month after she moved to P.E.I. for school, and said she was drawn to the idea of volunteering, helping people, and meeting other like-minded women. (Submitted by Mayté Luna)”Thanks to the WI, I got the opportunity… to connect with other people that are actually passionate about the things that I am, just like volunteering and just helping others, and being surrounded by people that want to hear from you and…care about you,” Luna said. However, because students are often available only during the school year, and in some cases only for the duration of their schooling, Gallant said the group was finding it hard to keep up momentum and run regular programming. That’s when they decided it would be a good idea to combine the existing Confederation Branch with a new chapter in Cornwall, where there was interest in having a WI presence. Gallant says the Confederation Branch of the P.E.I. WI has bonded over food and sharing recipes. (Submitted by Sheila Gallant)”Our aim, of course, is still to provide support to international students…but it’s also to engage more members and make it possible for members around Cornwall to be engaged,” said Gallant.”I think it’s a win-win…we have a bolstered membership, with the international [members] bringing enrichment to our programming.”Food is a focusOne area where that enrichment comes through is food.Sheila Gallant, past president of the P.E.I. Women’s Institute and current president of the organization’s Confederation Branch, is spearheading the creation of a Cornwall WI chapter. (Submitted by Sheila Gallant)”The students were all about learning about the traditional foods of Prince Edward Island, and sharing their stories around food and giving their recipes for food,” Gallant said.Luna said the members regularly share aspects of their culture with the group, along with activities, crafts, and just talking about what’s going on in their lives. “The fact that we now know that certain day of the month we’re going to meet all together — like, that’s something that actually gives me comfort,” she said.”Going and just being able to talk and just getting to see what Sheila is going to bring out for the meeting or what activity we’re going to do — that’s something that I really enjoy.” Declining numbers a concernAcross the province, the P.E.I. Women’s Institute has close to 70 branches and about 1,000 members.However, like many other volunteer organizations across the country, Gallant said the the group is seeing a decline. We’ve had to put more efforts around recruitment and retention of our current members.— Sheila Gallant”It seems that there’s not a lot of interest at the current time for people to volunteer,” she said. “So we’ve had to put more efforts around recruitment and retention of our current members.”But Gallant remains hopeful.”Any challenge provides an opportunity,” she said. “The opportunity for us is, how can we move forward by bringing volunteers in in areas where maybe their interest is piqued?”She believes the answer could lie in adjusting the way the new branch approaches programming. “A lot of the programming for Women’s Institute in some of the branches is very Women’s Institute-orientated. In other words, they develop it, they run it,” she said.”My vision is that we have a partnership and it’s with the community of Cornwall, where we work together and we run it together. And I think that would provide us with maybe a bit more success in the future.”The new Cornwall branch will meet monthly. More information can be found here.ABOUT THE AUTHORMarilee Devries is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. She has a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. She can be reached at marilee.devries@cbc.caWith files from Jackie Sharkey
A new chapter begins: P.E.I. Women’s Institute launches a Cornwall branch
