Are you passionate about promoting arts funding? Does the Colwood Crawl make both you and your car want to blow a gasket? Sick of the search for a family physician and want to tell the world?
All of these issues and thousands more are brought to our attention by the residents who take our Victoria鈥檚 Vital Signs survey each spring. The survey is one of the key ways we assess how Greater Victoria is faring in 12 key issue areas and is the cornerstone of the Vital Signs report we release every October.
This year鈥檚 survey opens May 6 and we鈥檙e eager to see what beefs and bouquets South Islanders will offer up in 2019.
The results of the survey are a treasure trove of information as to what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not for residents in our region. Respondents are asked to grade each issue area, such as Learning or Health and Wellness, to pick what they think is worth celebrating and what has room for improvement, and to then leave their comments on anything and everything.
And this isn鈥檛 just an opportunity for you to yell into the wind; we incorporate many of the comments into the print version of the report and every comment is available for anyone to read online.
The report itself is also no mere exercise in back-patting or worthless whinging. In fact, the findings of Victoria鈥檚 Vital Signs are essential to our work at the Victoria Foundation. They act as a guiding light to what our efforts and funding need to go toward to help build a vibrant, caring community for all. And with the foundation granting nearly $2 million per month to charities working on the ground to improve our community and beyond, this means a significant impact.
The influence of the report also goes far beyond our own organization. In our 2018 report, we included testimonials from a multitude of community leaders, from city councillors to police chiefs to heads of chambers of commerce. Each wrote of how they use the report as a vital resource to help them make decisions and guide actions.
So when we say that the Victoria鈥檚 Vital Signs survey is your opportunity to have your voice heard, we really mean it. We hope you鈥檒l take this opportunity to weigh in while the survey is up and running at until July 1. By taking the survey, you鈥檒l also be entered in a draw to win gift cards to local restaurants or Canadian Tire.
I can鈥檛 wait to hear what you have to say.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
