Am I too young for the WI? (Womens Insitute)

Aura

I have just the WI (women’s Institute) through a friend of mine who works at my local spiritualist church. I am in my late twenties and I have a lot of respect for the WI and I like what it represents etc. I am the youngest member, a lot of them are of retired age etc.

My cousin and her friends make fun of me because of this. They say I am growing old before my time and I am too young to hang around with elderly people, this has made me self conscious. I feel a bit like a duck/fish out of water. :eek:

I know this is not what the WI is about, and I would like to encourage younger members to sign up to the WI. We are not all stuffy and sing Jerusalem (never bin there) or make jam.

Can you advise me please and is there any other members of the WI here on this forum? Thanks for reading.

Pollycat

If you enjoy the WI, I would ignore your cousin & her friends.
Quite frankly, I think they are very rude to make fun of anyone who is doing something they enjoy - just because it might not be their 'cup of tea'.

Why do you need to encourage younger members?
Is this something that is encouraged by WI (like Jehovah's Witnesses door-knocking)?
Or is it that you would feel more comfortable with younger members there?

minerva_windsong

I'm 27 and I've been a fully paid up WI member for the last year, and I really enjoy it. In my previous WI I was the youngest member (though there were a few in their 30s, it mainly skewed towards women in their 50s/60s and a bit older). However, I've learnt so much from hearing about their experiences and found them all to be incredibly welcoming. They were a wonderful group of women and I miss them a lot; I think I need to gatecrash a meeting one night and go back and see people.

I've also got to find out about things I wouldn't have considered on my own through being a WI member. As an example, not long ago we had an auctioneer in telling us about her career and experiences as a woman working in auctioneering and antiques, and it was one of the funniest evenings I've had for ages even though I'm not that interested in antiques. Plus we've been on lots of really interesting trips out to exhibitions like the wartime fashion one at the Imperial War Museum and to things like the Tower of London key ceremony - again things I might not have got to experience on my own.

We never sung Jerusalem either, and although some members make jam it's not something we ever did at meetings (though I did somehow get myself on the baking rota and it massively encouraged me to up my game!).

From what I've seen on Twitter and Facebook the WI nearest to me is quite similar - its membership skews quite a bit younger (mostly women in their 30s) but again they do lots of different activities like pub Olympics, wine tasting, ukulele lessons etc. It looks really fun and I'm itching to go to a meeting again!

I'd say ignore your cousin and her friends; if you like it, then keep going to the meetings. I know I found it a bit awkward at first but people are really welcoming so don't be afraid to start chatting or say hello to people when you come in. I'd also recommend getting involved with the other activities outside meetings as much as you can so you get to know people a bit better. But speaking from my own experience, it's definitely worth sticking with.

ETA: Also it might be worth trying different WIs locally to see if they have more younger members, especially if you're in a big city. For example, the one near my work (in quite a trendy bit of London) is full of 20- and 30-somethings and it's the 'older' members who are the odd ones out, though I should add they were made very welcome when I was visiting. You can pay a visitor's fee of £4 to go to a meeting and can go to (I think) two meetings before you have to become a member, so it could be worth doing to see if you find one you feel is a better fit.

Thrift

I joined the WI when I was 26 and moved to a village where I knew nobody. I was very soon made welcome and became involved in planning the programme for the monthly meetings as well as some of the many outings and activities we underook outside of that.

Like any organisation every WI is different because it is made up of a group of people. Each devise their own programme and whilst some meetings may be listening to a talk others take on a practical nature so there is something for everyone. Other activities will be organised on a county basis and then there is Denman College, where courses on a huge range of topics are always changing.

You may find some WIs have a very young demographic and others a more mixed age group but age alone should not be the criterion on which to judge. Our treasurer is in her eighties and remains one of the more active members of the group attending all sorts of outings including a hike around a local nature reserve.

It does annoy when people critisize something they haven't experienced for themselves. Anyone is welcome to go along to a meeting and see if it suits and many are pleasantly surprised when they see the variety in the programme. In just the past few months at our WI we have been transported back to Elizabethan times by a speaker in full Elizabethan garb, discussed the work of the RNLI and looked at photography and how photographs can be restored or changed using technology. Coming up we have a demonstration of watercolour and a talk by a former member of a royal household. In my experience, the committee will welcome suggestions from members for topics or speakers they would enjoy.

notjustlaura

My sister joined the a YWI group when she moved to Southampton from Glasgow and didn't know anyone - she seems to really enjoy it and is now involved in Committees and who knows what else!

And this thread has encouraged me to look up the Scottish variant when I'm done typing here. I'm feeling a bit lost and lonely at the moment and it's something I"ve been meaning to try (at DSister's suggestion) for a while.

So far as what anyone else says about you going, OP, it's nothing to do with them. You enjoy it. Enough said. I'm sure they enjoy things you don't too

t14cy_t

hi, I joined the local wi and was the youngest by 45 years!!! the girls made me feel very welcome and I gained from the group immediately. I went on to be on the committee for 4 years. unfortunately the group disbanded due to lack of members as it was very rural., it had been going for 54 years!! the girls still meet regularly for lunch. the wi is empowering. if you enjoy the wi, ignore those who no nothing of the long standing wonderful group of women.

kathrynha

I'm 38 and joined our local WI earlier this year. Our group in only 2 years old and we are a mix of ages from late 20s up to retired.


They are so welcoming and the things we do are really good fun. Age doesn't seem to matter at all.


There are some "young" WIs around. My closest is 10 miles away in Leeds city centre, but I don't want to have to go back in to Leeds in an evening. I also think the mix of ages is part of the appeal.

Mojisola

Aura wrote: »

My cousin and her friends make fun of me because of this. They say I am growing old before my time and I am too young to hang around with elderly people, this has made me self conscious.

It doesn't sound as if your cousin and her friends have ever bothered to talk any older women.

They weren't always old - in fact, people who are pensioners now lived through very interesting times and had a range of experiences - some of which would shock or surprise the younger generation.

kathrynha

Mojisola wrote: »

It doesn't sound as if your cousin and her friends have ever bothered to talk any older women.

They weren't always old - in fact, people who are pensioners now lived through very interesting times and had a range of experiences - some of which would shock or surprise the younger generation.[/QUOTE]



Some of the older members of my WI are right trouble makers. You should have seen their behaviour at our cheese and wine party :eek:

Cheapskate

I'm a WI member, too, and we have an age range from early 20s to mid 60s, with most of us being mid-3os to mid-40s. Whatever our actual ages, we are young mentally young, we've done all sorts of activities, from making cake pops to have a cheese and beer tasting night, lino cutting to axe and knife throwing, belly dancing to pizza making, and loads more! We all have something to offer and something to learn - the only criterion for joining is that you're female!
Aura, keep going to your WI, you know how fab it is - you'll have to persuade your cousin or simply ignore her, it's her loss and I'm sad for her!

A xo

VfM4meplse

Reading this thread makes me crave Belgian buns with thick white icing and half a glace cherry on top!

Sorry that my contribution couldn't be more considered but I must speak the truth.

Eta: I have just googled WI and it seems branches local to me run their meetings at 2pm, which precludes working women. I guess I'll have to stick to Sainsbos for my Belgian buns.