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Fourth year for innovative report card on quality of life to be released in Waterloo Region
(July 13, 2010) Community foundations in 17 communities across the country will release their 2010 Vital Signs reports on Tuesday, October 5, 2010. The reader-friendly reports offer a comprehensive look at how communities are faring in key quality of life areas such as learning, health, housing, and the environment.
This year's participating communities are:
Victoria, Vancouver, Central Okanagan (Kelowna), Golden BC*, Red Deer, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Sudbury, London, Ottawa, Waterloo Region, Toronto, York Region*, Kingston, Montreal, Greater Saint John, Lunenburg NS*.
*participating in Vital Signs for the first time.
Once again, The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation and the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation will collaborate and release another Waterloo Region's Vital Signs report. Since 2007, the publication has garnered a growing list of supporters - including many organizations and foundations that use the report as a tool in making their community investments.
"Vital Signs provides us with valuable insight into local strengths, challenges, and opportunities, says Jane Neath, Executive Director of the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation.
Statistics from Waterloo Region's Vital Signs 2009 noted data such as: limited arts and culture spending by governments and the private sector, inadequate investment in child care with fewer child care spaces available, a high number of Regional citizens who do not eat the suggested five to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, and a rising elderly poverty rate.
"We've seen what a powerful tool Vital Signs can be for community groups, schools, government, and other agencies," adds The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation's CEO Rosemary Smith.
Community Foundations of Canada will also release Canada's Vital Signs, a national snapshot of issues facing communities from coast to coast. All Vital Signs reports will be available at www.vitalsignscanada.ca. For more information on the 2009 Waterloo Region's Vital Signs report visit www.wrvitalsigns.ca.
Canada's 170 community foundations are local charitable foundations that help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work, and play. Together we are one of the largest supporters of Canadian communities, providing $140 million in support of local priorities and organizations in 2009.
For more information on The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation visit www.kwcf.ca.
For more information on the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation visit www.cambridgefoundation.org.
For more information, contact:
Tracy Van Kalsbeek
Manager, Marketing & Communications
The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation
Phone: (519) 725-1806 ext. 6
Fax (519) 725-3851
E-mail: tracy@kwcf.ca
Website: www.kwcf.ca
