London's Crich family has made the historic donation of $2,000,000 to Fanshawe College to help get more people working in the skilled trades.
This is the largest individual donation the college has ever received.
The funds will be used to launch the new Don Crich Skilled Trades Accelerator, a space for community members involved in the trades to exchange information and share employment opportunities among one another.
The hope is that the accelerator will attract more people into the skilled trades - a sector that is currently facing a dire labor shortage throughout the province.
Don Crich, who passed away in 2015, was a dedicated London tradesman who founded several businesses including Auburn Developments, TerraCorp Management, Auburn Homes, and Stonerise Construction.
The idea for the Don Crich Skilled Trades Accelerator was attributed to his daughter, Karen Crich, who died suddenly in 2021. Karen previously served as a member of the Fanshawe College Foundation Board of Directors.
“She had a vision for a hub that would serve people across southwestern Ontario who are interested in careers in the skilled trades,” said Fanshawe College President Peter Devlin. “She recognized the challenges people can face as they begin their careers in the trades and she wanted to help remove barriers.”
Both Don and Karen are survived by Jamie Crich, who has since carried on his father's business as president of Auburn Development. Jamie was at Fanshawe College on Friday to explain the intent behind his family’s generous donation.
“Our father’s passion was building. His specialty was high-rise, but he loved building everything. This was followed closely by mentoring, which was kind of ‘building,’ too. Building futures. He loved helping people who wanted to work hard,” Jamie said.
Don often counseled young people to get into the trades or start their own company, just as he did at the start of his career.
“We wanted to embrace this attitude in honour of his memory,” Jamie concluded.
According to faculty from Fanshawe College, the Don Crich Skilled Trades Accelerator will be a "one-stop-shop" or "brokerage space" that welcomes existing and prospective students, employers, associations, industry partners, and anyone else with an interest in the skilled trades. The space will help aspiring tradespeople find new programs and job opportunities to advance in their career.
Jamie spoke to labor shortages in the skilled trades, particularly in the housing sector, and expressed hope that this new space would help bring more people into these professions.
Local representatives such as Mayor Josh Morgan, London-Fanshawe MP Lindsay Mathyssen, and Elgin Middlesex London MPP Rob Flack were also there to celebrate the enormous donation.
“We are very lucky as a community and as a city to have local developers, local families, people who have had generations of experience not only helping build our community but giving back to it. It’s not something every city has,” Morgan said.
The Don Crich Skilled Trades Accelerator will be unveiled for National Skilled Trades Day in early May, according to Devlin. Stephen Patterson, who serves as the dean of the Faculty of Science, Trades and Technology, confirmed the facility will be open to the public starting in the fall.