If you were to focus on the local headlines recently, you might get the impression that 2016 was going to be the year of the negative storyline. From tent cities to bridge woes, the ongoing sewage debate and more, seemingly intractable issues are everywhere these days.
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the Victoria Foundation, and it got me thinking: Were things better or worse back in 1936?
Eighty years ago it was the middle of the Great Depression. Gross national product was down nearly 40 per cent. Companies were struggling or closing, and national unemployment was only slightly better than the 27 per cent high reached in 1933.
It was during these darkest of days that the Victoria Foundation was established by a man named Burges Gadsden. He ran a soup kitchen, the Sunshine Inn on Pandora Avenue, and recognized that an organization that could weather economic storms and help support the well-being of the region’s residents could be incredibly beneficial. With a $20 donation, his mother, Fannie, was the Foundation’s first donor.
“With the wish that I could afford $100 to so fine an undertaking,” she wrote on the letter enclosed with her contribution.
I find I’m always comforted by the story of our foundation’s origins. It helps to know that our region has come through some incredibly difficult times, and that simple, everyday people have made — and will continue to make — significant impacts. It’s a feeling that stays with me, despite the ongoing problems that might be present. And it’s a spirit that’s strengthened by seeing the positive impact made by community groups of all sizes.
Consider the impact of small neighbourhood grants, a pilot project introduced late last year. Within the Hillside/Quadra neighbourhood, grants of up to $500 were awarded in November to 18 community projects. From art lessons to a community cleanup event, an aboriginal drumming workshop to a neighbourhood talent show, all of the projects helped to connect and engage neighbourhood residents.
There are many other wonderful projects underway that are having a similar effect on our community, from a recent grant to fund a new literacy outreach vehicle to a large grant that will see 10 different projects implemented to engage more than 28,000 residents in active transportation for both recreation and commuting purposes. These projects, and many more, may not be getting the headlines, but they are positively impacting people’s lives nonetheless.
One thing that seems to be certain is that we’ll always have challenges and difficult issues to grapple with as a community. But I invite you to take a page out of my book and balance that knowledge with the understanding that it’s just as certain that good people will continue to improve our region, one small step at a time. Just as Burges Gadsden and his mother did 80 years ago.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
