Ontario Trillium Foundation Announcement

Posted on: August 20, 2011 Subscribe

London, August 20, 2011 - The BIG ON HISTORY! Capital Campaign Cabinet led by Gord MacKenzie and the Board of Directors for the London & Middlesex Heritage Museum (Fanshawe Pioneer Village) are pleased to announce a $500,000 grant from the Community Capital Fund of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario, a $500,000 grant from the City of London and a $250,000 donation from the Spriet Family to construct the new Spriet Family Visitor Centre in 2012.

The 13,000 square foot Spriet Family Visitor Centre has been styled after a 1910 Middlesex County barn and will provide safe storage facilities for the long term preservation of the Village’s historic collection of 25,000 artifacts and new administrative offices. A new 2000 square foot public space in the Spriet Centre will be known as the Trillium Community Gallery. This new exhibition and programming space will be used continuously over the next decade as a public space to celebrate and engage the ethno-cultural communities of London and Middlesex. The Trillium Gallery will also be used for special events, education programming and facility rental to expand the operation of Fanshawe Pioneer Village to year round.

“Fanshawe Pioneer Village preserves our heritage while making it accessible to local residents and tourists who visit from around the world,” said Khalil Ramal, MPP for London-Fanshawe. “I’m pleased that this funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation will be used to construct a new facility to keep history alive today and into the future.”

“We are truly thankful for the incredible support shown by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the City of London and the Spriet Family for their gifts to the Spriet Family Visitor Centre,” states Gord MacKenzie, Chair, Campaign Cabinet. “These significant gifts stand as fine examples of support from our community and emphasize the important role they see Fanshawe Pioneer Village playing in the preservation of our past for future generations. With these gifts, the BIG on HISTORY! Capital Campaign has now raised over $3.3 million, exceeding the original goal!”

A leading grant maker in Canada, the Ontario Trillium Foundation strengthens the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives. An agency of the government of Ontario, OTF builds healthy and vibrant communities. www.trilliumfoundation.org.

For more information on the BIG ON HISTORY! Capital Campaign, contact the administration office at 519.457.1296.