Inspiring Stories

Celebrating your philanthropy

Many of us are familiar with the expression ‘the people make the place’ and nowhere is this truer than at ROM. The Museum would not be a world-class cultural institution without the generous support of so many individuals, families and corporations. Here are just a few stories of ROM volunteers and donors who have gone above and beyond.     

 

Marguerite Low

Marguerite Low has been giving to the ROM for over 25 years—both as a docent and as a Royal Patron. And thanks to a gift intention in her will, her contributions will also extend beyond her lifetime. We spoke with Marguerite about her experience as a ROM volunteer and what inspires her support for the ROM.

Blanche and Wes Mitchell

Blanche and Wes Mitchell both believed learning should be a lifelong experience and the ROM was their classroom. A generous gift in their estate will help ensure the Museum continues to inspire learning and discovery for generations to come.

Doug Gibson

Doug Gibson has loved the ROM since childhood. Some of his earliest memories are of going to the Museum with his mother in the early 1950s, which sparked a lifelong fascination with natural history. “Back then, they had a crystal cave in the geology gallery,” he recalls. “When you looked into it, it was like an optical illusion.”

Maryann Weston

When Maryann Weston first moved to Toronto from London, England, no one warned her about the extreme weather—the hot, humid summers and the icy, cold winters. Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete culture shock. As a Londoner, she was used to great museums and galleries like the British Museum and the Tate. So when she discovered the ROM, it immediately felt like home.

Marian Fowler

As a biographer, Marian Fowler wrote volumes about people whose impact lasted well beyond their lifetimes. Now, through an estate gift to the ROM, she has established her own powerful legacy that will endure far into the future.

One ROM curator can touch thousands of lives through the collections they develop, the exhibitions they curate, the students they mentor, the courses they teach, and through their own path-changing research and collaborations.

French Antique Room

Wondering what to do with cherished objects in your collection? Together with the ROM, A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals offers an easy way to simplify your estate administration process while benefitting the Museum and future generations in the process.

Private viewing of Egyptian Mummies

On October 1, Currelly Legacy Society (CLS) members enjoyed a private, before-hours viewing of the Royal Ontario Museum’s latest exhibition, Egyptian Mummies: Ancient Lives. New Discoveries.

Lifes and Legacies: Niel Cochrane

As a retired graphic designer, Neil Cochrane has a deep appreciation for good design. In fact, you could even say it’s in his blood. His family has been involved in design in one form or another—as gardeners, house decorators, and wallpaper printers—since the late 18th century.   

Donors Create New Curatorship of Climate Change: The Shiff Family

With global heating now part of our everyday lived experience, one family decided to act. Allan and Helaine Shiff, long-time ROM members, have made a visionary donation to establish the ROM’s inaugural Allan and Helaine Shiff Curatorship of Climate Change.