The International Order of The King’s Daughters and Sons (IOKDS) is an international, interdenominational organization of Christian men and women whose aim is to carry out religious, educational, and philanthropic projects as a service to their communities.
Members organize in Circles to carry out the work of the Order, and in some areas the members may also decide to form a District, County, or City Union. Unions are created to support and coordinate the charitable works of Circles within a City or District especially on larger projects – e.g. community housing, hospitals, retirement homes, schools, etc.
The Ottawa City Union was organized in February 1893 and has been involved in many projects over the past century, including the building of a 70-unit apartment building in 1964 on Cambridge Street as affordable housing for Ottawa seniors.
Since 1964, this residence has been a safe, comfortable, and affordable home for thousands of seniors. In 2019, the building was expanded to include an additional 58 units bringing the total number of units at the site to 128. The newly expanded KDS Village is another great contribution to the community by the KDS organization and will provide accessible, affordable housing for seniors for many years.
Now that the addition to the building has been complete, work continues on upgrading apartments in the original section of the building complex when they become vacant. This includes replacing kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and tiles and floors as required.
A community development officer and administrator has been hired to animate KDS Village. The goal of this new staff person is to find suitable volunteer opportunities for the residents of KDS Village and to find volunteers who would like to offer programs at KDS Village. In addition, the Administrator will be responsible for bookings of the amenity spaces and the management and development of programs for the residents.
For more information on KDS Village, visit their website at https://kdsvillage.ca
To view the Grand Opening video of events on June 15, 2022:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11ZjIxnfYdnS4LQ5P2tL9pmefDaHVvGQN/view?usp=sharing
The photos of the Grand Opening were taken by Barbara Gray of Ottawa.