When Teresa McCrory moved to Ottawa from Montreal last year, she was looking for ways to be involved in the community. To do so, she turned her
love for thrifting
into a fundraising initiative supporting women’s education.
McCrory, a recent member of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Nepean, turned her passion for thrifting into a fundraising initiative for the CFUW Scholarship Trust.
She began selling her
thrifted finds
and some of her own items on Facebook Marketplace, and all of the proceeds from the sales are donated to the trust.
“I thought it was an excellent initiative that I wanted to support,” she said. “I found that I was accumulating a whole bunch of stuff, so I thought, I can sell it on Marketplace and donate to the scholarship trust.”
She
loves thrifting
and has been doing it for years, always looking for items that are undervalued, and she has created a large collection of various trinkets and artifacts.
McCrory dubbed herself “The Trusty Thrifter,” a nod to her love for second-hand finds and the fact that every dollar goes to the CFUW trust. Since she started listing items about a month ago, she has raised about $1,250.
CFUW Nepean is a non-profit organization led by women and currently has just over 50 members. Most are retired professionals who promote and assist women’s education.
“It’s a women’s group that exists to support other women,” McCrory said.
The CFUW Scholarship Trust was registered as a charitable organization with Revenue Canada in 1996 and is managed by a five-member board of trustees who oversee donations and fundraising efforts.
For the 2024–2025 academic year, the trust increased its three scholarships and bursaries from $1,000 to $1,500 each, resulting in a total of $9,000 sent to Algonquin College.
CFUW has raised funds through used book sales, raffles, and plays written and performed by members at retirement homes.
Kathy Greiner, the chair of the scholarship trust, said they have recently added awards for women in science and technology and one for an Indigenous student pursuing higher education.
Although more women are entering STEM and technical fields, they remain underrepresented. Statistics Canada says women make up less than 40 per cent of STEM students and less than 30 per cent of people working in professional STEM jobs, meaning men make up more than 70 per cent.
Greiner said the organization created an award for women enrolled in STEM fields to encourage more women to pursue technical programs.
Many of the members received awards or some sort of financial assistance or recognition themselves as students, and “remember how this assistance helped them on their educational journey.”
Past recipients have included mature students returning to school after time away from the workforce, some with children, who are retraining or strengthening their job prospects, often in fields such as nursing.
“Teresa’s initiative to donate her proceeds from her marketplace sales will certainly help the scholarship and is much appreciated,” Greiner said.
McCrory said she was compelled to donate because after graduating high school, she received a bursary that helped her afford textbooks and continue her education.
“I think for everyone, not just women, things are very expensive right now,” she said. “With the cost of living, it’s difficult for everyone to afford to go back to school.”
“Any support we can give women to improve their education or even be happier with what they are doing improves their quality of life,” McCrory said.
From January to May, a quilt designed and made by McCrory will be raffled as part of a fundraiser, featuring her own log cabin–style design made with Canadiana-themed fabrics like maple leaves, Mounties, and hockey that she has collected over many years.
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