Recently, at the Community Foundations of Canada conference in Ottawa, I had the great honour of hosting an interview with Gov. Gen. David Johnston.
During our discussion, he expressed his desire that Canada “be a nation of barn raisers.” In essence, he was saying that in order to make this nation great, each of us must pitch in.
This is a perfect way to express why the Victoria Foundation supports and has committed itself to the 3 Things for Canada movement.
I first heard about the 3 Things movement at the Wellness Matters talk we hosted last October with the City of Victoria. Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was one of the speakers, and he spoke of the highly successful 3 Things for Calgary initiative and how this movement was being expanded nationwide in recognition of Canada 150.
The idea is simple: The movement simply asks each Canadian to perform three acts of service, large or small, for their neighbourhood, their nation, their world. If every Canadian took up the challenge, it would have inspired more than 100 million acts of community building.
I thought this a noble undertaking, and here at the Victoria Foundation, we have committed ourselves to join with our own three contributions to community.
We started in April by bringing Jowi Taylor and his Six String Nation presentation for a week of performances at local middle schools. We were delighted to share his magnificent guitar and the history it contains with our region’s youth.
For our second thing, the Victoria Foundation brought local Kwagiulth artist (and foundation board member) Carey Newman’s astounding Witness Blanket to the conference in Ottawa. This touching and thought-provoking look at the legacy of the residential-school system moves all who see it, and it was an honour to be able to bring it to the attention of even more people.
Our third thing for Canada will be the hosting of Victoria Foundation Day on Sept. 16. After the overwhelming response we had last year to the inaugural event, we knew we had to bring it back so even more residents could take part. This year, like last, we will team up with dozens of local attractions to offer a day of free admissions, parking and other perks, in celebration of our region.
These are our 3 Things for Canada, and we encourage everyone to pitch in with their own and help us to raise this barn we call Canada. Please visit threethingsforcanada.ca for more information.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
