What are the people of Waterloo Region most concerned about? Where do we need to improve and what are we doing well? Where should we, as a community, devote time and energy if we want to ensure that our Region is a healthy, vital place to live, work, play, and grow?
These are some of the questions that The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation (KWCF) in partnership with the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation attempt to answer with the third Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs report. Providing us with reliable and valid data, this learning tool has helped us identify key priorities important to the overall health of our Region.
For instance; low literacy and learning findings from the first two reports were behind The KWCF’s decision to make a $100,000 four-year commitment to the Pathways to Education program. They were also behind this year’s strategic grant of supporting intergenerational family literacy with Project READ’s Get Set Learn 2 program. In fact, in 2008, the largest grants made by The KWCF’s Community Fund went to support the top four priority areas outlined in the 2007 Vital Signs report: Arts & Culture, Housing, Health & Wellness, and Learning.
As community foundations, it is essential that we have a good understanding of the needs and trends of the communities we serve. Whether it’s connecting donors to opportunities, making impactful grants, or providing leadership on issues of importance, we need to know what makes our community tick.
With each Vital Signs report we have gained a better understanding of the every day enjoyment and satisfaction experienced by those living in the Region of Waterloo. In addition, each report has shown us that many of the quality of life issues being faced by our communities are interrelated. For example: finding affordable housing can impact the number of people being forced to move further away and therefore effects both transportation and the environment by the number of cars on the road. Having a vibrant arts community entices people to move to a city and directly impacts the health of the local economy. Helping those less fortunate can lead to a decrease in health concerns and provide a stronger sense of belonging.
Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs is both a celebration and an important reality check. It provides us with an opportunity to keep an eye on the future. Using Vital Signs as a tool for learning, each year we highlight a few areas on which we think a closer look must be taken. These areas help us to focus our grant making and support others in the work that they are doing. This year’s areas included: a lack of spending from our regional, provincial, national, and private sectors in arts and culture, concerns over the fact that many of our residents do not eat the suggested five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, a declining elder poverty rate, that we have fewer child care spaces available for our families and that we lag behind the province with our investment in child care overall.
In conclusion, recognizing and understanding all of these connections is vital to everyone living and working in Waterloo Region. Only by working together do we have the ability to create positive change where it’s needed most.
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