GUELPH – The Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS) announced on Feb. 1 it has received a $100,000 grant through the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s (OTF) Resilient Communities Fund.
“These funds will enable us to rebuild and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting staffing costs, engaging experts and purchasing equipment to execute our strategic plan and support community outreach,” said GBHS president Denise Francis.
Since 2011 the society has restored and maintained Heritage Hall in Guelph.
The building was originally a British Methodist Episcopal Church, “built in 1880 by formerly enslaved Black individuals and their descendents who arrived in the area via the Underground Railroad,” GBHS officials stated.
It is now a “cultural, historical and social community centre serving to promote Guelph and Wellington County’s … rich Black heritage.”
The OTF funding will “help the GBHS to adapt and pivot in this ever changing environment,” Francis said.
The funding has already enabled GBHS to:
– improve its audio-visual and livestream equipment;
– engage in strategic planning so GBHS can survive and thrive for another decade; and
– offer a range of virtual, in-person and hybrid events.
“The support of the community is essential to the success of our organization,” Francis said.
“And we are appreciative of the love and help we have received since 2011. We know the support will continue into the future.”
Lu Roberts, a volunteer with the OTF grant review team, attended the GBHS flag raising ceremony on Feb. 1 to congratulate Francis and executive director Kween.
Roberts said, “Since 1982 OTF has been working to build healthy and vibrant communities across the province.”
She added the mission at OTF “remains simple: to help build healthier and more vibrant communities across Ontario.”
Guelph MPP and Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner also attended the ceremony and helped announce the grant.
“Each and every one of you who are here today makes a huge difference in our community,” Schreiner said.
“But I want to give special recognition to two important members of our community, Denise and Kween.
“They’ve gone above and beyond so many times to support our community, to support the Black community, to support this amazing facility.”
The GBHS “does build a resilient community that is all about community connections and community well being,” Schreiner added.
“If we are going to talk about how we achieve racial justice in this country and in this province and in this community, it starts with the change in each one of our hearts.
“It starts with the kind of programming that happens right here at the Black Heritage Society.”
Schreiner said the society was chosen for a grant from “thousands” of applicants, which “says so much” about what it “provides to this community, what Heritage Hall provides to this community and what the huge and tremendous work that Kween and Denise provide to this community.”
