Image courtesy of the Milton Public Library
The Milton Public Library (MPL) is celebrating the award of four significant grants that will help fund new and ongoing community initiatives focused on senior engagement, environmental education, and youth employment.
In total, MPL secured funding from both federal and community sources to support programs launching in 2025.
Among the highlights is a $25,000 New Horizons for Seniors Grant from the Government of Canada, supporting a new initiative known as Preserving Voices, Empowering Communities. This multilingual oral history project will collect and share the stories of Milton’s diverse seniors through podcasts, interview training, and workshops on fraud prevention. Seniors will act as cultural ambassadors, building intergenerational understanding. This marks MPL’s fourth consecutive year receiving funding through the New Horizons for Seniors Program.
A $7,000 grant from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation will fund 25 Citizen Science Pollinator Kits and a weekly environmental education series at the Beaty Branch’s Indigenous Medicine Garden. The hands-on kits will be used in library programming and loaned out to the public, with a focus on pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Through the Canada Summer Jobs program, MPL will also support two Library Assistant positions for local youth in summer 2025. These 8-week roles will help with programming, outreach, and events. Additional funding from Young Canada Works will create two 26-week positions:
- Outreach Literacy Coordinator – Multilingual
- Diversity Audit Assistant
Both aimed at increasing inclusion and multilingual access at MPL.
“We are incredibly grateful for the continued support from our federal and community funding partners,” says Sarah Douglas-Murray, CEO and Chief Librarian. “These grants allow us to meaningfully serve our community, whether it’s through empowering seniors, supporting environmental education, or creating valuable employment opportunities for youth. Each initiative reinforces our mission to Read, Learn, Innovate, and Connect, while building a stronger, more inclusive Milton.”
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