{{Short description|Canadian non-profit organization}} The '''Victorian Order of Nurses''' ('''VON''') is a [[non-profit]] [[charitable organization]] founded on January 29, 1897, and based in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada. It was created as a gift for [[Queen Victoria]] for the purposes of [[home care]] and [[social services]]. It is registered as a charity with the [[Canada Revenue Agency]], under charity number 129482493RR0001.<ref>[http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/dchmf/haip/srch/sec/SrchLogin-e?login=true Canada Revenue Agency registered charity information database]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Since 2014, the President and CEO is Jo-Anne Poirier.
==History== [[Image:Countess of Aberdeen in Queen's U robes Topley.jpg|thumb|200px|Founder [[Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair|Lady Aberdeen]] was the first woman to receive an [[honorary degree]] in Canada. She is shown here in [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] robes, photographed by [[William James Topley]], in May 1897.]] [[Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair|Lady Aberdeen]], wife of [[Governor General of Canada|Canadian Governor General]] [[John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair|Lord Aberdeen]], visited [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], in 1896. While there, she heard many stories of women and children alone in remote areas of Canada as their husbands had to travel great distances for [[medical]] help. At a meeting of the [[National Council of Women of Canada|National Council for Women]] in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], she was asked to create an order of visiting nurses in Canada. It was to be a memorial for the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascent to the [[throne]] of the [[British Empire]]. At [[Rideau Hall]] on February 10, 1897, [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Wilfrid Laurier|Sir Wilfrid Laurier]] hosted an [[inauguration]] to create the Victorian Order of Nurses "as a mode of commemoration by the [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]] (Canada) of the Queen's [[Diamond Jubilee]]". In 1898, the first nurse training program was established for the Victorian Order of Nurses in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1898, one of the first high-profile projects for the VON was a call to women to join the Victorian Order of Nurses' [[Klondike, Yukon|Klondike]] contingent. Candidates had to be unmarried, at least twenty-eight years old, and be a graduate of a recognized nursing school. They were warned they would have to dress very plainly and not curl or crimp their hair. Four nurses were selected, three Canadians and one recent immigrant from England. They reached [[Dawson City|Dawson]] one month after the [[Sisters of Saint Anne]] and found their skills desperately needed to care for the many victims of the [[Typhoid fever|typhoid]] [[epidemic]] that was raging through the Klondike.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitepinepictures.com/seeds/ii/14/sidebar.html |title=Sidebar: Women of the Klondike |work=A Scattering of Seeds - The Creation of Canada |access-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-date=February 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208170455/http://whitepinepictures.com/seeds/ii/14/sidebar.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The VON has helped Canada through many incidents including [[World War I]], the [[Halifax Explosion]] and [[World War II]]. More importantly, VON has been an important element of building community, creating opportunities for people to work together to meet their needs and those of their friends and neighbours.
{{As of|2005}}, the VON, as it is almost universally known in Canada, was still the largest single, national [[Home care|homecare]] organization. With a staff of more than 7,000 supported by more than 14,000 volunteers, they touch the lives of many Canadians daily.
VON Canada is structured into a national service provider and local charities. Both are governed by volunteer Board members. The National Board is composed of dedicated volunteers from across Canada elected by the representatives of the local branches. The local branches operate in each of their communities, raising funds and lobbying to meet specific needs.
On November 25, 2015, VON suddenly shut down all their operations outside of Ontario and Nova Scotia. The order was lacking in funding, and could no longer support operating offices in other areas. It will restructure to determine what services will continue to be offered while being financially viable.<ref>{{cite episode |airdate= 25 November 2015 |series= CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme |network= CTV }}</ref>
==Arms== {{Infobox COA wide |image = Victorian Order of Nurses Escutcheon.png |escutcheon = Tierced in chevron reversed Bleu Céleste Argent and Azure. |crest = An antique lamp Argent enflamed Or and Azure charged with a representation of the Royal Cypher of Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria Azure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/wiki/Victorian_Order_of_Nurses_for_Canada |title=Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada |accessdate=31 January 2025 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref> |motto = Health For All - La Santé Pour Tous |notes = Granted 30 December 1991.}}
==See also== * [[Elizabeth Lawrie Smellie]] * [[Queen's Nursing Institute]], England, Wales, and Northern Ireland * [[James Thorburn (Canadian physician)]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * {{Official website}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1897 establishments in Ontario]] [[Category:Charities based in Canada]] [[Category:Nursing organizations in Canada]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1897]] [[Category:Organizations based in Ottawa]] [[Category:Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]]