The Leadership Roundtable (LRT)	Our Community in Action	Funders and Sponsors
The Leadership Roundtable (LRT)  is a strong coalition of influential community leaders who passionately believe that poverty must be reduced and prevented by all of us working together in a creative, caring and collaborative manner. Read more about its members...	Opportunities Waterloo Region sees its role in the community as bringing people and ideas together through dialogue.  We ignite community action by way of innovative solutions.  We facilitate and support the design, development and implementation of these sustainable, community-owned initiatives until it is time for us to move on and take another step.  Read the details..	Through the years, Opportunities has earned respect and appreciation on many levels throughout many sectors of the Region of Waterloo and even beyond our provincial borders.  See who has made our current work possible...

 

Prosperity and Poverty in Waterloo Region

 

Waterloo Region has a strong economy, with an average household income (for both families and individuals) that is higher than the national average.

 

It’s the fifth fastest growing community in the country, since it has become one of the most popular destinations for new immigrants, right along much larger cities such as Toronto and Vancouver. 

 

Unemployment rates are a good measure of how an economy is doing.  Despite some economic hurdles, Waterloo Region has managed to stay well below the provincial average for unemployment. 

 

With its high-tech industry and highly skilled labour force, Waterloo Region has one of the strongest and most productive local economies in Ontario, with worldwide recognition for products such as the Blackberry wireless devices.

 

Furthermore, ours is a generous community that has a strong sense of social responsibility.  Waterloo Region has one of the highest rates in the country for charitable donations.

 

It is also true that we have the second-lowest rate of poverty in the country, according to Statistics Canada. 

 

However, the latter issue still represents a challenge in our region. 

 

We have 47,450 people who live in poverty here. 

 

Prosperity, even modest economic stability, is a distant dream for 1 in 10 people in our community.  The economic disparity between the have and have not’s in this area is larger than the rest of Canada, according to the 2003 Healthy Communities Report by the Region of Waterloo.  This gap is only getting larger.

 

There are solutions.  It takes all of us to make this a ‘community of opportunity’ for everyone.

 

The key is to work collaboratively.  This is why we have created a strong network that includes businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, other non-profit organizations and concerned individuals.

We are members of Vibrant Communities - a national, community-driven effort to reduce poverty in Canada by creating partnerships and promoting research on how to reduce poverty in our own communities.  Opportunities is also a member of:

• Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

• Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce

 

"The influence of a beautiful, helpful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town." Collier Graham.

On January 19, during a Staff Appreciation Breakfast hosted by our Board of Directors, Pat Henderson was awarded the first Honorary Membership of the corporation of Opportunities Waterloo Region for her exemplary work as community leader and her dedication to this organization.