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City’s Community Wellbeing Initiative receives Impact Award

GUELPH, Ontario - October 18, 2013 - Blog item Ward 2 Guelph - The Deuce - The City of Guelph’s Community Wellbeing Initiative has received a 2013 Impact Award at this year’s CIC Impact Summit in Chicago.

The City and Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) were selected by the Community Indicators Consortium leadership to receive the award which celebrates projects that demonstrate the power of indicators to drive positive community change.

“Receiving the Impact Award is a clear indication of how the Guelph community strongly values wellbeing,” said Mayor Karen Farbridge.

“It is gratifying to see our Community Wellbeing Initiative being recognized internationally. The Initiative is a model of how residents and government can work together and share accountability to achieve better outcomes.”

Bryan Smale, director of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, based in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo, added,

“Our work with the City of Guelph demonstrates the impact of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing in contributing to meaningful change in individual and community wellbeing, so we are extremely pleased to be recognized with the CIC Impact Award.”

At an awards ceremony today, Barbara Powell, general manager of Community Engagement, and Margo Hilbrecht, associate director of research at the CIW, who are presenting at the two-day international conference, accepted the award on behalf of the City.

The 2013 Impact Award will be formally presented to Guelph City Council at its meeting on October 28 at 7 p.m.

About the Guelph Community Wellbeing Initiative (GCWI)/City of Guelph

The GCWI is a City-led, community developed plan that guides well-being decisions in the community and inspires community members to take action and contribute to the collective quality of life in Guelph. To learn more, visit guelphwellbeing.ca. A vibrant community of 122,000 people, Guelph is ranked among the top 10 places to live in Canada. Guelph is an active, growing, historic community offering an educated workforce, established economic base and an outstanding quality of life. Guelph is rich in culture, architecture, parks and riverside green spaces. For more information, visit guelph.ca.

About the University of Waterloo

In just half a century, the university, located at the heart of Canada’s technology hub, has become one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world’s largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information, visit uwaterloo.ca.