Media advisory - Vital Signs 2013 to launch Oct. 1; national report focuses on food

OTTAWA, Sept. 11, 2013 /CNW/ - Community foundations in 26 communities across Canada are releasing their Vital Signs 2013 reports on Tuesday, October 1.

"Vital Signs builds and shares knowledge so our communities are better prepared to mobilize around the issues that matter to them," said Ian Bird, President, Community Foundations of Canada.

More than 35 community foundations are involved in the Vital Signs program - either producing a report or acting on the findings of previous reports. The communities releasing Vital Signs reports in 2013 are:

• British Columbia: Abbotsford*, Central Okanagan, North Okanagan, South Okanagan, Victoria
• Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton*^^, Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta*, Northwestern Alberta, Southeastern Alberta
• Ontario: Burlington, Cambridge^^, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Mississauga, Peterborough*, Stratford and Perth County*^^, Sudbury, Temiskaming Shores*^^, Toronto, Windsor-Essex*
• Maritimes: Lunenburg County, Prince Edward Island*, Prince Edward County*, Regional Municipality of Cape, Breton*, Wolfville,

*  denotes the first time a community has published a Vital Signs report
^^  denotes a community whose Vital Signs report is focused on food

Subjective Wellbeing Survey Pilot
Residents in Kingston and Kitchener-Waterloo also participated in an exciting new pilot project offered in collaboration with the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

"The CIW Community Wellbeing Survey is the perfect complement to Vital Signs. It allows communities to better understand how their residents are really doing by asking them about the many aspects of their lives that contribute to and detract from their overall wellbeing," said Dr. Bryan Smale, Director of the CIW, housed at the University of Waterloo. "Having a more complete profile of a community can lead to real change and improve the wellbeing of both affected individuals and the community as a whole."

The survey is just one of a number of collaborative activities taking place as part of CKX - Community Knowledge Exchange - a new innovative approach to building and sharing community knowledge initiatives across the country and leading to an inaugural CKX summit in Toronto in early November 2014. 

A national focus on food
In addition to the local Vital Signs reports being released across Canada, Community Foundations of Canada will release its own national report focused on issues surrounding food in our communities, and our country.

"Community foundations across Canada support a myriad of programs and services related to food," said CFC's Ian Bird. "We wanted to use Vital Signs to step back, look at the bigger picture and share that view with communities and Canadians."

About Vital Signs
Vital Signs is an annual community check-up conducted by community foundations across Canada. Vital Signs measures the vitality of communities in key areas, providing critical information that can help set priorities and identify opportunities for action.  Learn more at www.vitalsignscanada.ca.

Community Foundations of Canada is the national network for Canada's 191 community foundations, which help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work, and play. Find out more at www.communityfoundations.ca.

SOURCE: Community Foundations of Canada

Skana Gee
Media Relations Coordinator
902-223-5234
[email protected]

David Venn
Communications Manager 
613-236-2664 x 302
[email protected]