Middlesex Centre man donates $1M to local organizations as part of Ilderton 150 celebrations

A parade, celebrity appearances, and a $1M donation to different charities were some of the highlights of the town’s weekend. CTV London’s Brent Lale was there.

Glenn Powell took the podium at the Ilderton Community Centre with a plan to improve the lives of residents.

“Someone once told me, ‘You can’t take it with you,’ so today I have come donate $20,000 to 50 different nonprofit organizations in Middlesex Centre,” announced Powell, a local farmer and realtor. “I just like to give back to the community, and I wanted to do it while I was alive rather than after.”

• IN PHOTOS: Ilderton’s 150th birthday

One by one, Powell called out the names of local organizations who came forward to collect their cheques.

All of them local, the groups ranged from churches, cemeteries, local sports organizations, agriculture and service groups, non-profits, and firefighters.

“We are totally floored and everybody’s totally floored with what’s happened today,” said Bruce Pollock, vice-president of the Ilderton Optimist Club. “We will take that investment and invest in the community into another additional park. We have another subdivision to the northeast of us, so that’s one position it might go or something with the youth because that’s what the Optimist Club does.”

SARI Therapeutic Riding says they could buy one or two new horses with the money, and the Ilderton Skating Club will help send skaters to nationals or maybe invest in grass roots skaters.

“I’d like to do it now and really help the nonprofit organizations that the people don’t really appreciate in the churches and the cemeteries,” said Powell. “They have to operate and it’s hard for them to survive. The firefighters, if you donate directly to them, hopefully they can buy some defibrillators or smoke alarms for houses that can’t afford them.”

The donation came as part of the Ilderton 150th birthday celebrations. The three-day weekend festival kicked off Friday with a concert and continues into Sunday.

“Everyone’s been working really, really hard to make the 150 Celebration special,” said Aina DeViet, Middlesex Centre mayor. “The concert went off well, and now we’ve got sunny skies. We have activities for kids and historical displays. There is something for everyone so families can come and spend a great day.”

No celebration in Ilderton would be complete without its most famous resident.

“Community means everything to me,” said Olympic champion figure skater Scott Moir. “They supported Tessa and me so much growing up. You see our names on the signs, but Tessa was from London, but they just adopted her. So for me, it’s all about the people.”

Moir was even helping tend the bar during the Jade Eagleson concert Friday night.

“Canada is made up of great little towns, and I think Ilderton has to be one of the best,” said Moir, when asked about what 150 years of his hometown means to him. “I missed the first 110 years of that, but definitely I think it was always a big advantage for me to come from a little town with hardworking people, people that take care of each other. I was always very proud to represent that on the global stage. So this is a big celebration for us and I’m proud to be from Ilderton.”