Retired educator, John Martyn, is a familiar figure in Peterborough’s lively charitable sector. After 36 years teaching and consulting, he’s spent nearly as long dreaming up a better, more inclusive Peterborough and working very hard to see that it happens.
John, along with Nora, his wife of 58 years, is an original member of the Peterborough Theatre Guild. He also volunteered as a trainer for Telecare Peterborough on issues of poverty and housing; began work in housing in 1985 at the request of a friend that resulted in the formation of Kairos, a non profit housing corporation supporting single mothers leaving abusive relationships; assisted in forming Homegrown Homes, a non-profit affordable housing project; is the original chair of the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network (he’s their current vice president); in 2010 he helped form the Mount Community Centre (he’s also their current vice-president); is a founding board member of the Community Foundation; and is currently engaged in developing the Trinity Centre as a community asset for PPRN.
To say that John has done a lot for his community doesn’t quite cover it!
Born and raised in Peterborough, John Martyn left to study at the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education before embarking on a four-year teaching stint in Northern Ontario. He came back to his hometown in 1963, married Nora, taught at St. Peter Catholic Secondary School, and raised two sons, Gregory and Michael who now have children of their own.
When asked why he has worked so tirelessly to create change in Peterborough, John answered, “One of my operating principles is that when the community leads, governments follow.”
To that end, John formed a non-profit charity called the Peterborough Affordable Housing Foundation (PAHF) in 2007 in order to address the then burgeoning crisis of housing affordability. “I hoped that the community would donate
to the foundation and funds would be available to develop genuine affordable housing,” he said. “The PAHF received grant money from the City to begin its work but, unfortunately, I did not have the knowledge and skills to make this work even though I had attracted several talented individuals to form the board.”
That’s when the idea of rolling the PAHF into a new Community Foundation came into focus.
“It seemed clear that a community foundation could be a possible answer to my hope that a community could come together to support and fund important social issues.” John said. “I invited the chair of a newly formed foundation in Guelph that was having considerable success to visit Peterborough to explain how their foundation works to Bill Lockington, Sue Ditta, Beth McMaster, and the ever-faithful Helene Lowry. That eventually led to the incorporation of the Community Foundation, forming the board and then hiring its first executive director, Andrea Dicks.”
When asked why he’s worked so tirelessly in “retirement” as a community volunteer, John said, “Peterborough is my home; it has given me the resources to live a good life. Especially, as a retired person since 1995, I have been fortunate to be able to use my time to volunteer in the areas of community life that are important to me. One of the most significant motivators has been seeing first hand the suffering of individuals and families caused by the inadequate responses of governments to fully understand and address the extent of the needs of the community and at the same time seeing the generosity of caring citizens rising to the occasions of need.”