Great Canadian Giving Challenge

Here we are, opening for the summer, and we have something we’d like you to consider:

The Creston Museum was opened by a group of very dedicated volunteers in 1982 – following a very long, exhausting, and often demoralising struggle to save a collection of local objects from being sold at auction, find a home for it, and turn that home (literally – it’s an old stone house) into a proper museum. Since then, we’ve added considerably to the collection of artifacts and archival material; expanded the buildings to accommodate it all; added a couple of staff people; and – most importantly – developed a whole range of programs and activities to use those collections for the benefit of the community.

These days, for example, in addition to the daily things we’re putting online, we’ve been:

• Providing resources for teachers to support them in delivering distance learning;
• Working with other community organisations to provide alternatives to cancelled events and celebrations – Blossom Festival, the Bird Festival, and the 75^th anniversary of VE Day are a few examples;
• Supporting upcoming community events, such as the Fall Fair and the Library’s 100^th anniversary, as their organisers grapple with the evolving COVID situation;
• Sharing materials with care homes and seniors’ groups to help them keep their clients connected;
• Responding to research requests and managing donations of artifacts, which have been more numerous than usual as people are taking the time during isolation to tackle projects they’ve been putting off;
• Working with other tourism providers to help ensure availability of services if and when people are able to start travelling again;
• Going ahead with plans to hire summer staff to help address local job losses (as much as our resources permit), while adapting job tasks to ensure worthwhile work despite the impacts of COVID-19;
• Documenting the COVID response in the community.

We’re also redesigning our approach to the visitor experience at the Museum. Pandemic-related public safety concerns are pushing us to adopt a much more hands-off, self-guided approach than we’ve enjoyed in the past – which means we need a lot more interpretive signage to help you explore the community’s story (but our staff are still happy to share stories and answer questions!).

We’re also getting some major repairs done after a tree landed on one of our buildings back in March, and that is giving us an opportunity to work with community partners to completely redevelop several exhibits.

I mention all of this because I’d like to draw your attention to the Great Canadian Giving Challenge. That’s an initiative of CanadaHelps.org, an online destination for charitable giving: every dollar donated to your favourite charity (like the Creston Museum) in the month of June gives that charity an additional chance to win $20,000.

That’s right – if you make a donation this month through the Creston Museum’s page at CanadaHelps.org, you not only ensure that we can keep delivering all those benefits for the community and help offset the unexpected costs (and revenue losses) caused by COVID-19, you could also help us win $20,000 to support the Museum’s  future community-focused initiatives.

We know things are difficult right now, with many people feeling the strain of COVID impacts – but if you are able to contribute, we hope you’ll consider doing so this month. Thank you for your support!

We would very much like to thank Maury Murphy, John Shean, and the estate of Jeanie Tronningsdal for their recent generous donations – your support is very much appreciated!