Message from the Chair and Executive Director

We are pleased to publish the first Medicine Hat’s Vital Signs report. Vital Signs is a graded report card on the quality of life in and around Medicine Hat. Like any report card it covers a number of different subjects helping us to identify what we are doing well and where we need to improve.

It is often said that we are lucky enough to live in the best City, in the best Province, in the best Country in the world. This report reflects on many of the factors that support that statement but we must not be complacent. It is clear there are areas that need to be addressed.

We would like to thank the many community leaders, residents and organizations who have helped to identify, select, gather and grade the indicators for the 11 key categories. They have all contributed to produce a report specific to our community. We have taken care to try and produce a simple and easy to understand report that will assist everyone to obtain a clear image of our strengths and weaknesses.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Community Foundation of Medicine Hat & Southeastern Alberta. Since our inception we have been focused on the well-being of our community. Our mission is,

Improving the quality of life in Southeastern Alberta through the development of permanent endowment funds, making responsible grants and inspiring community leadership.

The Foundation now has assets of well over $5.5 million and during the past 15 years has made 423 grants with a total value of nearly $2.3 million.

Vital Signs is a unique and valuable method of pointing to areas of need. It measures the pulse of our community. Vital Signs will help the Community Foundation in our grant making decisions. It will also be invaluable to donors and grant recipients. It will help donors to gain a better understanding of what is going on in our community and assist them in how best to direct their gifts.

Grant recipients will have the latest information at their fingertips to better plan and develop their programs to meet the requirements of a rapidly changing community. We also hope it will be of some use to decision and policy makers as they formulate their plans for the greatest benefit of Medicine Hat.

We invite you to read Medicine Hat’s Vital Signs 2007 and consider how it can help you and the organizations you work, or volunteer for, to make a positive impact and improve the quality of life in Medicine Hat and its surrounding communities.