Donors & Funders

For donations of up to $499. As a Friend of JHS, you have joined the movement started by John Howard over 2 centuries ago. Your gift of under up to $500 is will make an important impact on the community as John Howard did centuries ago. He reforms continue in practise today, and you are a new set of hands to carry the torch into a new century of programming.

The Beginning Step

John Howard cared about his country and his community. At the age of 30, he had heard of a devastating earthquake striking the city of Lisbon, Portugal. He made the choice, a pivtol one, to sail to the site to offer help to those in need. It was this step that began his long and dramatic path work in the area of criminal justice reforms, elementary level education for children, sanitation systems as well as other areas of societal values that we still see the effects from today.

It’s said John had a manner and air about him that allowed him to develop a rapport and trust with others readily. His approach brought down barriers to change, and enouraged important new ways of thinking about persons in conflict with the law, which is why today there are many agencies across Canada, the UK and elsewhere who adopt his name for their work in the community.

For donations up to $1,999. As a Passenger of the Hanover, you have commenced a voyage of making a difference in the lives of fellow community members.

John’s Journey on the Hanover

In 1755, John Howard was readying himself for another tour of the European Countries. He had heard there was a great earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal which left thousands of people homeless. When he heard of the tragic news, John Howard decided he would first set out for Lisbon to see what help he could offer to his fellow men and women.

On his journey to Lisbon, the French captured his ship and he was placed in a dungeon with other prisoners of war. It was here that many believe John Howard’s interest in prisoner reform began. He describes the prison as a filthy, dark and damp place where he and the other prisoners spent many hours starving. Here, the prisoners spent a whole week sleeping on nothing but a bed of straw. Eventually, John Howard was able to arrange an exchange for himself and his fellow prisoners.

For donations up to $9,999. As a Fellow of Cardington, you understand the long-term value of investing in your community as John did. Your gift will have an important impact for many families and individuals alike. Helping those around you to improve themselves, as John Howard did in Cardington, is a life-legacy that your community will benefit from for years to come. You will also receive this beautiful plaque to display proudly!

John’s Return to Cardington

Having returned from his incarceration experience in the dungeons of France, John settled again at Cardington, Bedfordshire to live on a 200-acre estate. It was formerly two farms, the larger of which he had inherited from his grandparents. His grandmother, Martha Howard, was a relation of the Whitbread family, and he became a neighbour and close friend of his cousin, Samuel Whitbread.

John spent the next two years building properties and trying to improve the lives of the tenants living on his land. Later, a survey of Cardington in 1782 found that he was paying for the teaching of 23 children. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1756.

For donations up to $19,999. Patrons are on the path to long-term support and giving at a level that can impact dozens of individuals and families in any number of areas. Your gift can help with the infrastructure delivery of programs that change a person’s life by putting them on-track to achieve their full potential. When the individual succeeds, our community as a whole benefits as we improve our health, safety and social justice. As part of this level, you will receive this uniquely numbered plaque.

John’s Intervention at Savoy

The military prison of Savoy in London saw 200 prisons erupt in a violent riot. The building was completely under the rioters control, two guards had been killed, and none of the local authorities could make any headway at bringing calm to the situation.

For donations of $20,000 or more. Our top tier of donors, you want to make the largest possible impact across a number of areas. Your gift goes a long way to helping local individuals and families to receive help with anything from housing and ID replacement, to conflict resolution skills counselling, parenting skills enhancement, after-school youth programs and more. As part of this level, you will receive this uniquely numbered badge plaque.

John Howard as High Sheriff

John Howard was appointed the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1773. He had no knowledge of prison science per say, and so it remained for him to invent it, but he had a thoroughness and devotion to the duty, attending to every peice of official business personally, rather than to assign those tasks to Deputy Sheriff’s, as had been the custom prior to him. John sat in the courts during trials, visited every cell in the gaols of his county, and scrutinized every individual prisoner’s case.