Brock University President and Vice-Chancellor Gervan Fearon wrote an article published over the holiday season in The Hamilton Spectator about a nationally significant historical donation made to the University, highlighting the various forms philanthropy can take.

He writes:

“In this season of giving, in a year that has carved a deep need for compassion and generosity, many of us will support our local United Way, drop cash in a Salvation Army kettle or give gifts to food banks, hospices, homeless shelters.

The need is very real, and Canadians are givers. In 2018, we made more than $14 billion in financial charitable donations, according to data from Imagine Canada. We also give thousands of volunteer hours to drive people to medical appointments, repair playgrounds, support inner city youth, operate soup kitchens, maintain parks and so on.

But philanthropy that touches lives can be more than money or time, as demonstrated by a Toronto-area family who actually donated a slice of Canadian history to the Brock University Archives: an astonishing set of documents and artifacts that was bought for 17 cents at a 1940s garage sale, and today is appraised at $348,000.”

Continue reading the full article here.