Community Foundations to release 2011 Vital Signs reports

Community Foundations to release 2011 Vital Signs reports on October 4

Program highlights issues and opportunities for local, national attention

Ottawa (June 15, 2011) – Community foundations in 21 communities across Canada will release their 2011 Vital Signs reports on Tuesday, Oct. 4.”Vital Signs has become an important tool for local action in communities across the country,” said Ian Bird, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada. “And community foundations are seeing the impact of the data long after their reports are released.”

The Vital Signs program provides a comprehensive look at how our communities are faring in key quality-of-life areas such as learning, health, housing and the environment. The reader friendly reports are used by local leaders, donors and charities as they set priorities for action.

The communities releasing 2011 Vital Signs reports are:

• Central Okanagan
• North Okanagan*
• South Okanagan*
• Golden and District*
• Sunshine Coast
• Powell River*
• Squamish*
• Victoria
• Calgary
• Grande Prairie*
• Medicine Hat and Southeastern Alberta
• Red Deer and District
• Kingston and Area
• Oakville
• Hamilton
• Greater Sudbury
• Toronto
• Mississauga*
• York Region*
• Greater Montreal
• Greater Saint John

(* denotes first time publishing Vital Signs)

Past Vital Signs participants – including Vancouver, Ottawa, London, Kitchener Waterloo and Cambridge – continue to use the information revealed through their reports to guide program and granting decisions. Community Foundations of Canada will also release Canada’s Vital Signs, a national snapshot of issues facing communities from coast to coast, on October 4.

More information, including national and local media contacts can be found at www.vitalsignscanada.ca.

About Vital Signs
Vital Signs is an annual community check-up conducted by community foundations across Canada that measures the vitality of our cities, identifies significant trends, and assigns grades in up to ten areas critical to quality of life.

About Community Foundations
Community Foundations of Canada is the national membership organization for Canada’s community foundations. Canada’s 178 community foundations help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work, and play. To find out more visit www.cfc-fcc.ca.

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Contacts

Anne-Marie McElrone
Director of Communications and Marketing
902.461.8284 (w)
902.223.0674 (c)
amcelrone@cfc-fcc.ca

Skana Gee
Communications Coordinator
902.466.7191 (w)
902.223.5234 (c)
sgeecfc-fcc.ca