Written by: Sanjana Bassi, Intern
After going to school in Oakville for almost a year, I can positively say that I knew almost nothing about the community around me until I started my co-op placement at the Oakville Community Foundation. The Foundation’s Annual Report was a small glimpse into a whole new world of community involvement, initiatives, and history. By reading the annual report, educating myself on these stories, and being given the opportunity to share it with others through social media, I’ve learned more about the community I spend almost every day in.
The initiatives that stood out to me the most in the annual report were Debwewin: The Oakville Truth Project, the two mini research reports and GIVEOakville.
Debwewin: The Oakville Truth Project stood out to me because of the historical importance behind it. Reading about it in the annual report, and reading the Treaty Report: Friendship, Peace and Respect for All Future Generations: The Oakville-based treaty relationships between the Mississaugas and the Crown, was an eye-opening experience. The placement of Treaty Signs around Oakville is a reminder of the history of the land that we inhabit.
The two mini-research reports: “Are We Hungry?” and “Can You Afford to Live Here?” both stuck out to me because both of these are issues that we face on a national level, but it was interesting to read about them from a local perspective.
“Are We Hungry?” was the first mini research report, and it covered the prominent issue of food insecurity in the community. The report showed that in the Oakville and Oakville North – Burlington ridings, food bank usage has increased by 65% and 66% respectively. This sparked interest in me as it displayed that in communities such as Oakville that are deemed as “well-off” there’s still a lot of struggle.
The second research report “Can You Afford to Live Here?” is centred around the rising cost of housing throughout Oakville and Halton. I found this intriguing, as I didn’t think that the cost of housing posed an issue in this area particularly. However, there has been a 22.3% increase in average monthly shelter costs for homeowners and a 40.8% increase for renters. The most shocking statistic to me was that to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Oakville without spending more than 30% of your income, you would need to make $42.89 an hour or roughly $89,000 a year annually. This put into perspective how severe the housing crisis is, especially here in Oakville.
GIVEOakville is an initiative that The Foundation runs every year. This year, $740,000 was raised for 71 different charitable initiatives, which was an 8% increase from 2022. Every year, The Foundation uses its Community Granting Funds to amplify donations, and provided $187,000 in support, 20% of which was allocated to racialized-led organizations and organizations with a gender equity mandate. The allocation of funds to racialized-led organizations and organizations with a gender equity mandate resonated with me as these issues are ones that I am passionate about.
Writing this, I hope to inspire initiative in others of my generation to care about local issues. The Foundation’s annual report not only highlighted the important initiatives they work on, but the challenges and issues in Oakville that need to be addressed. By understanding these issues, and working to find effective solutions, we can make Oakville a better town not just for ourselves, but for future generations to come.
