Members of the Powell River Community Foundation (PRCF) have received an extension to raise funds for an annual community checkup.
The foundation needs to raise $15,000 by Friday, March 11 in order to ensure a 2011 Vital Signs report will be conducted. The report card assigns grades in at least 10 areas critical to quality of life and identifies critical trends. The publication is coordinated by the Community Foundations of Canada and a number of cities and towns across the country participate. Statisticians compile data in areas such as youth, arts and culture, economy, environment and health and wellness.
Councillor Dave Formosa brought a request to council at the March 3 committee-of-the-whole meeting. He explained he had been approached by members of the community foundation to help raise the funds. The money is used to buy three advertisements in Vital Signs, at $5,000 each. Formosa’s idea was to ask for $1,000 contributions from a range of businesses and agencies.
He asked council to donate $1,000 and that request was referred to the March 3 council meeting. Formosa made a motion to contribute $1,000 to PRCF as sponsorship for the publication 2011 Vital Signs, to be funded from the mayor and council operating account. The motion passed unanimously.
Real Sigouin, president of PRCF, told council the organization, which has been active for just over 10 years, has already donated more than $225,000 to the community. “It’s not our foundation, it’s your foundation,” he said. “We just want people to know we’re here, we’re active, we want people to get involved, we’d like to leave a lasting legacy. Powell River has been good to us and that’s one way to give back to the community.”
The foundation would like to have the vital signs report done, Sigouin said. “It helps determine the specific charitable needs of Powell River,” he said. “It provides leadership and guidance to the philanthropic community, establishes a beneficial basis on which non-profit and charitable groups can work together for mutual assistance and it will increase the effectiveness of the Powell River Community Foundation.”
Sigouin said the plan was to pull together a management team from within the local non-profit and charitable groups to oversee the preparation of the vital signs report. “We’re excited, we’re sure we can put this thing together, we’re looking for your help and we appreciate the support,” he said.
