LENNOX & ADDINGTON’S CONNECTING COMMUNITIES 2019 ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR LENNOX & ADDINGTON Our Vision: A financially strong, connected, vigorously active, widely recognized and highly respected charitable foundation capable of major contributions toward strengthening and growing prosperity and fulfillment in our people and living areas in all parts of Lennox and Addington...in perpetuity. Established in 1987, the Community Foundation for Lennox & Addington manages charitable gifts from donors. Those gifts are pooled into permanent, income-earning endowment funds. The income from our endowment funds is distributed annually in the form of grants for charitable and educational purposes. Since our inception in 1987, The Community Foundation for Lennox & Addington has provided grants and bursaries in excess of one million dollars for the benefit of communities throughout the region of Lennox and Addington. WHAT IS VITAL SIGNS? Community Foundations across Canada produce Vital Signs check-ups in order to identify trends and to measure well-being factors in their regions. Vital Signs projects identify ideas, uncover needs, and promote collaborations that motivate communities to act. For most of our 32-year existence, our Community Foundation has operated as the Napanee District Community Foundation. In 2015, we produced a Greater Napanee Vital Signs Report. Our 2015 report can be found at: https://www.communityfoundations.ca/vitalsigns/reports/ . Since 2015, we have grown to become the Community Foundation for Lennox & Addington. Working with community leaders, we are coming to understand our region, and our communities, better than ever. In this Vital Signs project, we examine quality of life factors through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs). Our intention is to publish Vital Signs reports for Lennox and Addington, every two years. Each time we publish, our aim is to identify and incorporate additional community voices and to demonstrate that together we can improve upon our smart, caring and sustainable communities. We welcome your feedback and support. Email: [email protected] THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Our thanks to all the individuals and organizations who have participated in our Vital Signs outreach sessions. Thank you also to the following sponsors for their generous financial support. Ian Brumell and Margaret Axford 2 www.cffla.ca TABLE OF CONTENTS The Community Foundation for Lennox & 4 A REGION OF 100 Addington works to improve the lives of all living in L&A. We're here for good....forever! 5 UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) BOARD OF DIRECTORS 6 METHODOLOGY Laurie French, President Tom da Silva, Vice President 7 FEATURE: Connected Communities Shannon Tyner, Secretary Josh Dafoe, Treasurer 9 GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING – Priority One Ian Brumell Diane Pearce 10 NO POVERTY – Priority Two Dennis Mills Patricia Garrod 11 CLIMATE ACTION – Priority Three Tim Reynolds Bruce Cowle STORIES AND STATS 12 Life on Land, Life Below Water 13 Poverty, Hunger, Liveable THE VITAL SIGNS TEAM and Clean Water & Sanitation Communities Bob Childs 15 Good Health & Well-Being… 17 Decent Work, Economic Growth Tom da Silva Alyssa Scott Recruiting and Retaining Industry, Innovation & Anne Brayley Doctors to the area plus Infrastructure Rosalyn Morrison Community Wellness 19 Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities, plus Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR LENNOX & ADDINGTON 21 GAPS AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES 47 Dundas St. E. Napanee, ON 22 SURPASSING $1,000,000 IN GRANTS AND BURSARIES K7R 1H7 www.cffla.ca 23 DATA SOURCES info@cffla Lennox & Addington’s Vital Signs Connecting Communities 2019 3 A REGION OF 100 PEOPLE 5 would be living in the Township of Addington Highlands 18 would be living in Stone Mills Township 37 would be living in the Town of Greater Napanee 40 would be living in Loyalist Township 4 www.cffla.ca SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development In 2015, Canada, plus the other 192- member nation states, adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations General Assembly. Through this agenda, seventeen interdependent goals have been identified and each goal has been assigned specific targets and indicators to be achieved by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals represent a framework to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. This initiative has been described as an opportunity to eliminate poverty, save the planet and ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all. These goals allow individuals to think at the global, national and local levels plus to act at the global, national and local levels. ‘Lennox & Addington’s Vital Signs Connecting Communities 2019’ has elicited community insights on 12 of the 17 SDGs and will touch upon all 17 SDGs. It is through the lens of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals our Vital Signs project aims to identify and promote actions that will ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for all residents of Lennox and Addington County. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org Lennox & Addington’s Vital Signs Connecting Communities 2019 5 METHODOLOGY Seven Months of Research We conduct a deep statistical analysis of our region. We select data that is accurate, meaningful, clear and unbiased. Where possible, we collect data that is comparable over time. Our aim is to spot opportunities for community improvements. Five Outreach Sessions Focus group sessions were conducted in order to review the data, compare the data to lived experiences, and to identify possible collaborations and solutions for individuals, organizations, businesses and governments to champion. Multi-Sector Convening, Writing and Launch A multi-sector panel was convened to identify the SDGs most relevant to our communities, to provide the sequence and emphasis of this report. 6 www.cffla.ca “CONNECTING COMMUNITIES” he recurring theme from each of our quality. Climate change is reshaping our Vital Signs Outreach Sessions has been views of actions within our watersheds. T the importance of ‘connections’… maintaining and enhancing existing plus “the top three SDGs (identified today) – establishing new and stronger connections. Climate Action, Poverty, Health and Well-Being… it is nice to have a focus We already connect in so many ways. We are all and understanding of what is a priority connected to each other through the natural environment. Maintaining a clean and diverse (for) and important (to our local natural environment is vitally important to communities)” anonymous Vital Signs the health and well-being of all our residents. participant We depend on our natural systems for clean drinking water, recreational opportunities and We also connect through the agencies that for continued economic prosperity. exist to enhance and support each other’s lives. We are most effective when we Residents in rural areas rely upon their connect professionally and collegially in neighbours for responsible stewardship of the order to develop solutions to our most land in order to protect ground and surface complex problems. water in order to ensure that there are, and will continue to be, safe and clean sources of Many of the challenges facing our drinking water. communities are daunting and complex, yet, despite the challenge, we have the All along each of our watersheds, we rely upon social capital and spirit of togetherness that each other to understand and be responsible is necessary to make substantial progress for our impacts within the watersheds. on complex issues like good health and Headwaters play a vital role in the health of the well-being, poverty and climate action. entire watershed. Shoreline vegetation and forest cover, up and down the watersheds, are important in regulating the flow of nutrients (continued page 8) into our watersheds. Residents living on our spectacular bays that feed into Lake Ontario understand fully how activity up and down our watersheds impacts shorelines and water Lennox & Addington’s Vital Signs Connecting Communities 2019 7 CONNECTING COMMUNITIES (continued from page 7) “collaborations can really occur across organizations, faith-based institutions, sectors – not only connected sectors but community festivals and the work of local (with) a diverse set of organizations in our artists and musicians. community” anonymous Vital Signs participant (something that has made an impact When people and organizations connect to on me is) “the interconnection champion important causes, great things between people and how they are happen. A prime example: this past winter, looking for ways to remove agencies, citizens and local government worked (organizational) silos” together cooperatively to respond to the acute anonymous Vital Signs participant need in our community for a warming centre. A one-time solution was achieved and Emerging out of this year’s Vital Signs implemented in 2019, yet the need remains. process is a sense that our continued, Again, this winter a cooperative solution will be shared well-being, as residents of the needed. Champions are at work and a new region of Lennox and Addington, will be solution will be found. dependent upon our ability and willingness to build upon our existing (the take-away) “lots of networking and collaborations plus our ability to forge new ideas to collaborate with other positive, new connections for the benefit organizations on a variety or programs and of all. services” anonymous Vital Signs participant We asked our