Ottawa Police to partner with CPF to support our community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 25, 2024           12:05 pm

(Ottawa)—The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is proud to announce its continued partnership with the Capital Prosperity Foundation (CPF) to support families in need within our community for the next three years. 

Last year, the CPF (formerly the Capital Integral Charitable Foundation (CICF)) approached the OPS to form a partnership. This partnership was based on the OPS’ proximity to the CPF’s intended beneficiaries – families in need. 

The OPS’ Hoopstars and Neighbourhood Resource Teams (NRTs) were the prime OPS candidates to support this pilot project because of their community engagement.

The Hoopstars are a team of volunteers who foster positive relationships with the youth community through sports and one-on-one discussion; and the NRTs work collaboratively with all communities across the city of Ottawa to improve community safety and well-being by addressing crime and quality of life issues. Both groups also regularly pool their own resources, whether funds or time, to support community members in need.  

The pilot project included two initiatives: 

• The Gift Card program – The CPF provided NRTs and the Hoopstars with Walmart and Giant Tiger gift cards to hand out at their discretion. Overall, the card program impacted 100 families and 149 children during the pilot program. 
• Make a House a Home – While out in the community, officers identified families in need, and the CPF provided the funding required to purchase the items the family needed, like bedding or a working fridge. The Make a House a Home program impacted 10 families and 23 children throughout pilot program. 

 The pilot program’s initial investment for these two initiatives was $30,000, translating to an impact on 110 families and 172 children. 

Through the pilot project, six new ways for the CPF to help the OPS offer support to the community were identified, including: 

• Providing bike helmets for the OPS bike rodeo; 
• Funding for transportation and entry fees for summer program field trips; 
• Providing car seats for newcomers to Canada; 
• Supporting a Halloween Safety initiative where glowsticks and lanyards were handed out at schools; 
• Working with the OPS Christmas Miracle to provide Christmas food baskets; and 
• Sponsoring families through the OPS/Boys and Girls Club to donate gifts to families. 

The CPF funded these six additional initiatives with over $26,000, increasing program’s reach within the community. 

It’s worth noting that the OPS’ frontline officers contributed to the success of this pilot by supporting the delivery of these initiatives. 

We have received very positive feedback from community members who have been helped throughout the pilot phase. 

For more information about the CPF, please visit: https://capitalprosperity.org/

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Through the Community Safety Data portal data.ottawapolice.ca, members of the public can view, download, and interact with data released by the Ottawa Police Service.

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