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18 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 16, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com About the Community Foundation of Oakville Founded in 1994 by civic leaders and Oakville philanthropists (our FundHolders), the Foundation has grown to over $32 million in assets. In 2007, this allowed The Community Foundation of Oakville to provide over $1.5 million in funding to charitable agencies. Since inception, the Foundation and its Fund-Holders have given in the order of $10.5 million dollars in grants in support of our community's well-being. The grants were generated from income earned on endowment funds and from our community fund-raising projects. Many people have established unrestricted funds with The CFO, allowing our Grants Committees to respond to contemporary issues and concerns, as well as emerging needs and opportunities for the future. Others, including individuals, families, businesses, private foundations and non-profit organizations have established permanent endowments under the umbrella of one large foundation to direct grants to their favourite charities, forever. Our Mission To live up to the trust our donors place in us by investing their gifts wisely for the benefit of our community. Our Vision Our donors inspire us to link the people of Oakville in sharing their gifts for the betterment of our town... forever. Unlike other charities, which are usually dedicated to a single cause, our Foundation assists our Fund-Holders to support the entire range of charitable activities in our town: · Arts & culture · Health care · Environment · Education · Social services · Heritage · Community development This unique mandate allows The CFO to fund new projects or other initiatives that might otherwise fall between the cracks. The Community Foundation of Oakville, connecting good people with good causes. To learn more about The Community Foundation of Oakville, contact Rusty Baillie, CEO, at rbaillie@thecfo.org or (905) 845-7582 www.thecfo.org BEFORE RUSTY BAILLIE Rescuing a historic landmark Palermo's one-room schoolhouse, once in terrible disrepair and in danger of being demolished, is starting a new life. Thanks to the members of the Trafalgar Township Historical Society, this important part of Trafalgar's history will be shared with visitors for many years to come. Trafalgar's Family Day celebration in 2006 was the impetus for the renovations to begin. With hard work and donations from the Society members, and outside funding from The Community Foundation of Oakville and Benjamin Moore, the schoolhouse began its restoration. Next up is building code approval and once this has been confirmed, the schoolhouse will again be part of the township's living history. The school will give visitors a one-room schoolhouse experience in the World War II era and already, both public and separate schools have shown interest in including a visit to the schoolhouse as part of their curriculum. The building will also house the Society's archives, provide historical research to the community and be available to rent for community events. AFTER Thanks to the generous support of Benjamin Moore and the Community Foundation of Oakville the Trafalgar Township Historical Society was able to refinish the hardwood floors in the Palermo School house and complete the refresh of the Sovereign House.