We get it; Oakville has a reputation, but that reputation doesn’t tell the full story
“I don’t know what the needs are in Oakville – it’s a really safe, affluent community.”
“I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve never seen a homeless person on our streets. We just don’t have this problem.”
These are just sample messages we encounter everyday. It’s not the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) effect, it’s simply a result of how well the town presents itself. People don’t see this – they don’t think there’s poverty or homelessness, or that there are more than 140 food agencies providing food support to residents in Oakville – YES, more than 140!
We’re dedicated to helping the Oakville community, so it’s common to be faced with questions about why a community as rich and prosperous as Oakville could possibly need all of this charitable support.
The Foundation has been able to see through the facade by conducting localized research and talking to people in need in our community. We’re able to discover the areas of highest need and make them a priority for members of our community who are looking to help.
Our position today stems from the work unveiled in The Foundation’s 2015 Vital Signs report which uncovered four areas of highest need including: the equity gap, affordable housing, inclusion and mental health. And last year, The Foundation completed a targeted report on Youth – our 2018 Vital Youth Report. It shares new insights that no doubt will surprise you – for example did you know that 1 in 8 youth and 1 in 10 residents in Oakville live in poverty? What’s probably more surprising is that Oakville has the highest share of individuals living in poverty in the Halton region.
This research helps The Foundation drive and explore new innovative ways of providing funding support. This includes strategic grants in our BeCause Oakville program to Impact Investing where The Foundation provided a mortgage for the Halton Children’s Aid Society for a residential home to act as a youth shelter to help homeless and at-risk youth to readily access support. This all leads us to today and GIVEOakville.
When you give to GIVEOakville, you can be sure that your donation is going directly to an area of need in our community. The GIVEOakville catalogue contains various projects dedicated to every age group, interest and issue in Oakville.
We appreciate that we play an exciting role in our community in providing local research and knowledge to other non-profit and charitable organizations as well as our donors. With this research and knowledge, together we can find fundable solutions to these high-need areas and issues.
