Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the committee, and committee staff.
I would like to begin by thanking you for extending this invitation to United Way/Centraide Canada. We are pleased to be here today to discuss the challenging question of reducing poverty with you this morning, and we look forward to interesting exchanges.
I will begin by talking a little bit about the United Way of Canada, and then Pierre Métivier, the president and CEO of Centraide Québec and Chaudière-Appalaches, will discuss what is being done in his community in terms of fighting poverty.
No doubt, all of you who are at the table know United Way/Centraide. No doubt, as well, all of you know of United Way/Centraide as a fundraiser. What you may not know is that next to government, the United Way/Centraide movement is the largest funder of the voluntary sector and social services in Canada.
Each year, United Ways and Centraides across the country raise upwards of $480 million, the vast majority of which is reinvested in local communities to support programs and services directed at improving the social conditions of all Canadians. Every day, Canada's 119 United Ways and Centraides work locally to change living conditions for the better. The issues they face may vary, but the values and purpose of all these United Ways are the same: to strengthen their communities and to improve the quality of life for Canadians. The movement employs approximately 900 staff and engages over 200,000 volunteers in various capacities.
In 2003, the United Way/Centraide movement approved a new mission, and I want to draw your attention to that new mission because I think it's fundamental to the study you're doing right now. Our new mission launched the organization on a profound journey. This transformation is about a fundamental shift from being a very successful umbrella fundraising organization to being a movement focused on community impact. We are often asked what community impact is. What does it mean, and how is it different from what we used to do?
Fundraising is one strategy in support of our new mission. Who we are is about making lasting changes in communities. Community impact is about achieving meaningful, long-term improvements to the quality of life in Canadian communities by not just addressing the symptoms of problems but by getting at the root causes. It's about making fundamental changes to social conditions in communities.
As a member of a movement committed to community impact, United Ways and Centraides across Canada are working together and with others to build on the collective strength needed for real change to happen.
I will now leave it to Pierre to discuss some of the initiatives that have been put in place to tackle poverty.