Financial Assistance: Bridging Lifelong Connections and the Branksome Campus
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Every Christmas, Mary BAWDEN Wood'51 brings out her miniature Branksome “choir mice” so they’re ready to sing for the holidays, as she puts it. It’s a tradition she cherishes as a reminder of the school’s lasting impact. She bought them as a young alum at a school bake sale, where she managed the used books.
Now in her early 90s and still living in her home with husband Jim, Mary’s connection to Branksome has grown into a decades-long commitment to Financial Assistance through the Alumnae Association Endowed Bursary Fund.
“I’ve given every single year since I graduated,” she says. “My father always told me, ‘If you’ve been given something wonderful, you give back.’ He said that boys’ schools were always asking for money but he felt the girls’ school needed help. That was terribly important to him, and then it became important to me, for deserving girls to have the chance to go to a wonderful school. That stuck with me.”
Mary’s path through life has only reinforced the importance of opportunity.
She studied physiotherapy at the University of Toronto, working first at a veterans’ hospital in London, Ontario, dealing with soldiers injured in the Second World War. She later volunteered for 40 years with children with disabilities in Toronto public schools, supporting those who needed help the most.
“Having daughters of my own [Elizabeth WOOD’87 and Kathryn WOOD’87] made it clear how important it is for every girl to have the chance to attend a school like Branksome, no matter her family’s circumstances,” Mary explains.
For Mary, giving back isn’t just about financial support—it’s about gratitude and community. “Above all, Branksome was fun and gave me lifelong friends.”
From bake sales and little Christmas birds to decades of annual giving, Mary’s commitment illustrates how one alum’s gratitude can ripple across generations. “I give back every year,” she says, “because what I received was extraordinary—and I want that opportunity to be there for every girl who needs it.”