A place like Sharon Museum and Gardens does not preserve itself. It takes care, funding, skilled hands, and a community that believes the past still has work to do in the present.

In June, we officially kicked off our $8 million Capital Campaign with a special reception celebrating the future of Sharon Museum and Gardens. Guests gathered for food, conversation, and a first look at the vision ahead. It was a warm and meaningful evening, but it was also the start of something much bigger.

This campaign is a call to protect an important historic site, strengthen the visitor experience, and grow the museum and gardens for the generations who will come next.

Continue reading below to learn more about the campaign!

The June reception marked the beginning of a major community effort

Reimagining the Sharon Museum and Gardens

Sharon Museum and Gardens has been a place of gathering and community for around 200 years, ever since the Sharon Temple's first beginnings in 1825. East Gwillimbury is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, and we want to grow with it. So the time is now to keep it alive and growing. We need your help to preserve our historic grounds and keep the heritage of East Gwillimbury thriving. Together, we can make a difference!

Historic buildings, gardens, collections, and public spaces all need ongoing care. Time, weather, and use leave their mark. Without investment, even beloved places can become harder to protect and harder to share.

Our $8 million capital campaign is about meeting that responsibility with purpose. It is about giving Sharon Museum and Gardens the resources needed to grow, improve, and continue welcoming people into a meaningful historic setting.

When people visit a museum, they are not only looking at old objects or walking through old buildings. They are meeting the people, values, labour, beliefs, and choices that shaped a community. They are seeing traces of lives that came before them. They are learning that history is not far away. It is underfoot, in the walls, in the landscape, and in the stories we choose to keep.

Every gift helps protect more than a site. It helps protect memory.

This campaign will help Sharon Museum and Gardens grow

The Capital Campaign is focused on the future of Sharon Museum and Gardens. That future includes a stronger site, deeper engagement, and more opportunities for people to experience the museum and gardens in ways that feel relevant and memorable.

The campaign has three key areas of investment:

• $5 Million New Builds

  
  

The supporters of the Sharon Museum and Gardens are asking for a $5 million investment to develop new buildings to support the site expansion. This includes the development of new gardens, a visitor centre, an events centre, and additional structures to enhance events, rentals, and programs available.

• $2 Million Hope Trust

  
  

The establishment of a $2 million fund will ensure that long term funding is available to cover the high costs of acquiring, maintaining and preserving historically significant buildings.

• $1 Million Accessibility, Safety, Technology and Program Enhancements

  
  

These enhancements are designed with the overarching goal of improving accessibility and safety for all visitors, as well as expanding the visitor experienece. These will create more opportunities for children, families, schools, and visitors to learn through direct experience and interaction.

Design for Sharon Museum and Gardens' new visitor centre.

Donors have a chance to shape what comes next

The future of Sharon Museum and Gardens will not be built by hope alone. It will take donations, introductions, advocacy, volunteer energy, and steady community commitment.

Large gifts can create major momentum. Smaller gifts can bring hundreds of people into the shared act of preservation. Both matter. Campaigns succeed when many people see themselves in the mission and decide that history deserves their help.

There are many ways to help the campaign move forward:

• Make a personal gift that reflects what the museum means to you.

• Share the campaign with family, friends, and neighbours who care about history.

• Encourage local groups, foundations, and businesses to learn more.

• Visit the site and bring others with you.

• Keep the conversation going.

  
  

Every action helps widen the circle of support.

To learn more about the campaign and how to support it, visit the Sharon Museum and Gardens Capital Campaign page.

History is strongest when people choose to keep it alive. This is that moment.