Peace Museum receives $10,000 donation

January 7, 2026

By Bill Kilpatrick

Christmas came early for the Canadian Peace Museum this year when they announced on Dec. 23 that they had received a donation of $10,000 from the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers) to help with current renovations at the museum located at 19 Valleyview Drive in Bancroft. The Quakers are currently partnered with the Museum and are providing an annual donation of $2,000 per year to help get the museum up and running. Early in December, however, they found that they had some extra funds available and were looking for donors.

Mel Burns, the Peace Program coordinator for the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers) explained that she received the news about the extra funds from her finance team and was asked to decide on a donor. The extra funding was a result of unspent funds that were bequeathed to them for peace education. Due to what she called a “great happenstance” she received the yearly report from Chris Houston, the executive director of the Canadian Peace Museum, a week later. “I was trying to think about what do to with the extra money and where would be a good spot [to donate it],” said Burns. “And Chris’ update came out that week asking for donations to help with renovations … when that came through, I went ‘That seems like a great idea for the money.’ They are already an established partner. We already have a working relationship and we know the organization aligns with our vision and values.”

Burns explained that the Quakers have a pacifist past that goes back to the 1600s in England where they refused to take sides during the English civil war. This refusal resulted in what she called the “Peace Testimony” that stemmed from a statement made at that time that the Quakers would “oppose all bloody principles and matters.” Which, according to Burns, meant that humans “should not be killing each other for any reason whatsoever … that’s not what we’re here for, instead we are going to try and error on the side of justice and truth and to walk in the world a different way.” Their peace efforts led to the awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 for their relief work and reconstruction efforts in post-war Germany.

Now, stated Burns, the goal of the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers) is to “find ways to help people thing differently about war and think differently about the urge we have to conquer each other.” This goal of peace education dove-tails with one of the purposes of the Canadian Peace Museum which, according to their web page is “To educate the public about peace, equity, art, activism, environmentalism, and community harmony.”

When asked why efforts to promote peace and educate people about peace is important at this historical moment Burns stated, “We believe now more than ever peace education is going to be critical in changing the trajectory of how we talk to each other and how we think about our history. So, we are very excited and very encouraged by the creation of a peace museum in Canada and we will continue to support it for as long as we can.”

Houston said that he was “exceptionally grateful” to the Quakers for multiple reasons. Not only was Houston grateful for the $10,000 donation but for the fact that they are an annual supporter and multi-year partner and have also provided advice and guidance at peace conferences and inregards to the museum itself. Houston said that the donation will be used to purchase museum grade energy efficient lighting for the main hall. A fact that sparked some ironic laughs amongst Burns and her colleagues as the phrase “inner light” among Quakers refers to not only spiritual care but acts as an impetus for action.

While much of the action at the museum and amongst the Quakers revolves around education, one major aspect of that education, both Houston and Burns emphasized, was to inform people that peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of social justice and equality. “Sometimes people think that this museum is about far away things and not about local things,” explained Houston. “But it’s also a space where people can learn how to have a fairer society and I think that’s quite important right now.” Houston emphasized that money invested into the museum is money that is directly invested back into the community whether through local contactors, purchasing supplies, community gatherings, or future employment opportunities.

Local connections was one of the main reasons that Burns decided to give the Peace Museum the donation. Burns explained that “The other thing that encouraged us to donate is knowing how they’re spending the money and that they are investing in people locally. One of the things that the Quakers are working for actively in Canada right now is a guaranteed liveable basic income and making sure that people are able to be paid a living wage for what ever they are contributing [to society]. So when Chris told me about the way they are paying their workers and bringing in people who are local who are needing job assistance it was just another reason to say ‘yeah, we would love our money to go here and to be able to pay local people a living wage to be able to create something that’s really meaningful’ We really want to see this museum be open and contributing to our world.”

Houston also wanted to thank all the local individuals and business for their donations. “My spirits are lifted by the generosity of local people and businesses as well,” stated Houston. While much has been accomplished so far there is still along way to go before the doors are open and Houston is hoping that with continued donations 2026 will be the grand opening year. “What we need and what we love is all these different groups of people giving us money for renovations,” said Houston. “This is what we need right now, so we are very grateful.”

To learn more about the Canadian Peace Museum or to donate please visit: https://canadianpeacemuseum.ca/

To learn more about the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers) please visit: https://quakerservice.ca/.