Ecclesiastical Insurance commits $30,000 to heritage conservation

Ecclesiastical Insurance Office has announced its plans to donate $30,000 to fund the education of students at the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts, Canada’s premier heritage conservation school. The donation will go towards bursaries for second-year students over three years, starting in 2023 until 2025.

Ecclesiastical president David Huebel said this commitment to heritage conservation and sustainability aligns well with its goals as a specialist insurer delivering tailored solutions to “many sectors, including the arts, culture and heritage community.”

“We know the importance of heritage conservation and sustainability, and Willowbank teaches its students how to do this important conservation work,” he said. “Ecclesiastical is proud to contribute to the learning of our country’s next generation of heritage conservationists.”

A company release added that members of the Ecclesiastical team visited Willowbank to launch the partnership. This involved a tour of the school’s campus, which is located at a national historic site near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The Ecclesiastical team also met with students and delivered a cheque presentation, the release said.

Launched in 2006, Willowbank is a private career college that offers a three-year diploma program in heritage conservation, combining theory and policy-based courses with hands-on work. Graduates of the program receive a Heritage Conservation diploma. 

“This generous donation is an investment in our program and our students,” said school director Caitlin Wooll.  “The bursaries will afford students who may otherwise have struggled with 2nd-year tuition the peace of mind to focus entirely on their education, rather than how to make ends meet. Willowbank and the future bursary recipients are so grateful to Ecclesiastical.”

Last month, Ecclesiastical granted its Benefact Trust Chair’s Award to Indspire, an Indigenous national charity dedicated to the education of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. The award was given through the company’s Community Impact Grant program, which provides funding to registered charitable organizations across Canada.