HSSD
Jan 13, 2023
Announcement by HSSD
2023-01-13
The Historical Society of South Dundas (HSSD) had our annual membership meeting in October, 2022 where we elected a board with several new faces. There was a substantial push for fundraising, moving forward on projects, and expanding the scope of our work to include the entirety of South Dundas.
As with all volunteer organizations, fundraising is always a challenge, even more so for organizations who work in fields like history. The Society has been able to maintain a slow and steady income to help advance projects and keep bills paid but it is now time to start moving forward and trying to tap into other funding opportunities. We have put in a concerted effort to find new income streams so we can start making big moves on our various projects.
We recently were declared finalists in The Next Great Save competition which is held by The National Trust for Canada and sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance Co. We are competing against 9 other heritage sites across Canada to gather exposure and votes to win a grant of $50,000 to put towards saving these wonderful sites. We need everyone’s help for just 1 minute per day from January 20th to February 22nd. Everyone can go to the Next Great Save website and vote for Forward House each day!
We are still working hard to revitalize Forward House, and this is going to be a massive challenge. With hazardous materials, a structure that needs repairs and updates including a new roof, and untold damage that may yet to be discovered, we are slowly but surely putting in motion our plans to breathe life back into one of the oldest structures in Ontario. With your help we can have the environmental hazards within Forward House removed and we can start working on repairs and renewal of the building and turning it into a fantastic space for the community to use!
Over the years the focus of the Historical Society has been pursuing the history surrounding Forward House and its revitalization. This has created a bit of a challenge with acknowledging and promoting all of the other history in the area.
Over the coming year we are planning several events, some are tried and true like a trivia night or two, and others are going to be new experiences for the region such as our Whiskey & Rum Night.
Please follow us on Facebook (@historicalsocietyofsouthdundas) for updates and information!