In an ideal world, what would the Saanich Peninsula and Greater Victoria look like for your children and grandchildren?
That’s the question The Victoria Foundation is asking residents to consider during this year’s Victoria’s Vital Signs Survey, underway now.
Sponsored by Coast Capital, the survey is open until noon, May 31, and encourages respondents to grade 12 aspects of the community, both generally and as it relates to them specifically.
Survey responses are then used to produce the comprehensive Victoria’s Vital Signs report, which combines public opinion and statistics to provide a snapshot of livability and well-being throughout Greater Victoria, including the Saanich Peninsula.
READ MORE: Help guide Victoria’s future: Take the 2024 Vital Signs survey
Packed full of information, the report can then be used by donors, funders, communities and non-profits to identify and address some of the most pressing issues in the community. Some organizations aid residents throughout the region, others are more specific in scope.
Last year, for example, the Victoria Foundation’s Community Grants provided $20,000 for the Peninsula Stream’s Foundation’s Engaging Young Stewards’ Environmental Education Program and $30,000 for the Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s Forest Conservation Program.
On the food security front, the Farmlands Trust Society received $20,000 for their Farm Program, producing food for those in need, while early literacy got a boost with a $9,000 grant to the longstanding Peninsula 1000x5 Children Book Recycling Society, which to date has distributed more than 180,000 books to support the early literacy development of young children in the region.
With an eye to the future, this year’s survey questions encourage respondents to consider Greater Victoria as we experience it today, and what it might look like in the future. What kind of environment will our next generations inherit? How will affordability impact the region down the road?
Decisions made today will impact these outcomes.
Need another reason to fill out the Vital Signs survey?
Participants will be entered to win one of three Country Grocer gift cards worth $100 each. Double your chances of winning by filling out the long-form version of the survey – it only takes a few minutes!
Learn more, and take the survey at victoriafoundation.ca.