For Immediate Release – November 12, 2018
Oakville Community Foundation launches new ‘Vital Youth Report – A tale of two Childhoods’ and announces two new Youth Philanthropy Programs.
Report offers a Watchlist of Adverse Childhood Experiences to help guide local donors, charities and philanthropists.
The Foundation’s “Vital Youth Report – A tale of two Childhoods’ sheds light on the lives of our children and youth, both in Oakville and North Halton. It also offers a Watchlist of potentially adverse childhood consequences that could have a long term impact on the healthy development and successful outcomes for our youngest community members:
The Watchlist for local donors, youth facing charities, and philanthropists
- Addressing Child Poverty In Our Communities
- All Kids – Healthy Weights, Increases In Screen Time, Not Meeting Standards For Physical Activity and Healthy Eating
- Playing Safe And Unintentional Injuries
- Safety In Low-Income Neighbourhoods, Particularly Oakville
- Bullying – All Ages, Particularly In Communities In North Halton
- Teenage Heavy Drinking, Risky Behaviours and Criminal Activity, Particularly Amongst Male Youth
- Youth Anxiety, Depression, and Self-Harm, Particularly Amongst Female Youth
- Opioid Misuse
- The Teenage Perception That Neighbours Do Not Care About Them
- EQAO Scores, Particularly In Some Lower-Income Oakville Neighbourhoods
- 2,500 NEET Youth, Particularly In Milton and Youth Out Of Care
- Affordable Housing For Young Adults, Particularly In Oakville
The report was supported by many local sponsors and partners, including Henderson Partners LLP the report’s Title Sponsor. “Looking at our community from the lens of a child’s life, and how we are working to set them up for success is critically important to all of us. As a local firm, invested in our local community, the future well-being of our community is dependent on successful childhoods and their transition to adulthood. We are proud to be supporting this report.” Christie Henderson, Managing Partner with Henderson Partners LLP.
In addition to Henderson Partners LLP, other report sponsors include Genworth Canada, Cogeco, Ford Canada, O’Connor MacLeod Hanna, and YMCA of Oakville shared the details of the report .
“We are truly invested in our community – it’s in our DNA said Glenda Lloyd, Manager, Communications & Community Relations Ontario, Cogeco at our launch. “Childhood is an important time to develop lifelong habits for physical and mental health and they are interrelated. Poor physical health can lead to increased risk of developing mental health related issues and vice versa. Learning from the Vital Youth Report’s key findings about children’s challenges with obesity, getting enough physical activity, getting too much screen time and feelings of anxiety, – are important areas for the community to focus our efforts if we are setting our kids up for long-term success.”
2019 is the Foundation’s 25th Anniversary and CEO Wendy Rinella, announced two programs The Foundation is launching to engage Youth in the development of solutions to the issues raised in the Watchlist.
“First, The Foundation will be asking students at local high schoosl to advise us on how to benefit the youth in their local neighborhoods. We will be asking them to guide us on how to grant $2,000 locally. Second we will be partnering with Tech Under 20 at Silicon Halton to offer $15,000 internships at local charities for winners of the Tech Under 20 Cup. “
Details of these programs will be available in the new year.
The report is available on the Oakville Community Foundations website, www.theocf.org/our-impact/vital-solutions/vitalyouthreport/. Community groups are welcome to request a speaker from The Foundation to make a presentation on the survey and report.
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About the Foundation:
The Foundation is in its 24th year of “Building Community Through Philanthropy”. The Foundation is a registered charity that has granted $37 million to charities since 1994, and supports the prudent investment of over $100 million in charitable assets. The Foundation welcomes families, businesses and residents into our philanthropic community and offers a means of making a one-time donation that can continue to benefit the community year after year, or have an immediate and significant impact. We offer everyone in Oakville the opportunity to be a philanthropist. The Foundation is one of the largest members of a national network of over 190 Canadian community foundations.
About The Vital Youth Report:
The Vital Youth Report is a continuation of The Foundation’s Vital Signs research work on understanding the needs of the local community. Modeled after a traditional Vital Signs report, the Report drew inspiration from the UNICEF Report Card on Children and Youth and its focus on “Leaving no child behind”. This report is not a report card —–these reports are just the start of important discussions and how we can align resources to the most important and pressing issues in our community affecting our children and youth.
For Media Contact:
Sarah McPherson
Director of Philanthropy & Communications
sarah@theocf.org | 905-844-3562 ext 302