Leanne Sexton

2025 East Gwillimbury Honouree

For the first six years, true to its name, The Giving Place in Mt. Albert, Ontario has provided an abundant and evolving offering of experiences and freshly grown fruits and vegetables to the surrounding communities, and then some.  It is a sanctuary for animals and for people to both find and lose themselves, while discovering and enjoying quiet connection and presence at the same time.

“It’s called The Giving Place, because I was given the opportunity to purchase it, and I wanted to turn it into something special that could be shared”.  What started as one mighty woman (Leanne Sexton, a single-mother) and her little tractor, carving paths (on weekends) and setting future intentions, has turned into more than 100 volunteers and a dedicated 1-acre Giving Garden Haven that supports the 5 nearest-surrounding food banks with fresh produce grown locally, with love.

None of it was easy or straightforward, but neither was her life before The Giving Place, and if Leanne had listened to any of the non-believer’s advice she received along the way, she’d still be living in Toronto, still searching for alignment.  She would not be the rural Goddess we know and love.  She would not be an international best-selling author.  She wouldn’t have made the incredibly kismet friendships along the way that continued to propel her forward, from the woman who designed her book cover to the woman who published it, or the woman who made purchasing the property possible!  She would not have met her (now) husband in the fields of lavender or become a proud stepmother to his son.  She wouldn’t have manifested Touch A Heart, which became an incredibly impactful community-driven effort to furnish and/move families that were leaving Blue Door’s transitional housing program, furnishing homes for more than 100 local families with essentials and care.

She got the idea for Touch A Heart while she was very pregnant with her fourth child, and on strict orders to rest in bed.  This is also when she hired a coach and declared that she wanted to write a book, start a charity and live a more heart-centred life.  Her vision board is dated 2016 and has the book, the farm, the happy children, the flowers, the animals, the garden.  Two weeks after creating her vision board, she became a best-selling author.  In 2017 she found and purchased the farm.  Her dreams are still unfolding.

The 8.5-acre property is now her full-time passion and her commitment to the community continues to grow as she’s manifesting the infrastructure needed to make the Giving Garden Haven a year-round agricultural and experiential gift.  Turning one acre and one growing season into a year-round bounty is the kind of magic Leanne is all about.

On June 28th the very first (annual) A Night of 1000 Candles fundraiser will be held at The Giving Place.  Lighting up the night and the future possibilities for Giving Garden Haven, which very proudly became an official not-for-profit on February 14th, 2025.  Tickets can be purchased online, and your impact will be felt, seen and appreciated for years to come.  There are many upcoming events and opportunities to experience the magic of The Giving Place.  Get lost.  Get found.  Get present and bring some beautiful small-batch lavender products home with you, made with lavender that Leanne planted herself, and of course made with love.