Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre Achieves Accreditation from Imagine Canada’s Standard Program

(OAKVILLE, May 28, 2015) — Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre (OPNC) is delighted to announce that we have been accredited under Imagine Canada’s national Standards Program. With this achievement, we join a growing community of more than 120 organizations dedicated to operational excellence.

The Standards Program is a Canada-wide set of shared standards for charities and nonprofits designed to strengthen practices in five fundamental areas: board governance; financial accountability and transparency; fundraising; staff management; and volunteer involvement. The goals of Imagine Canada’s Standards Program are to increase the transparency of charities and nonprofits, and to strengthen public confidence in individual organizations and the sector as a whole.

“It’s no small feat for an organization to earn Standards Program accreditation,” says Bruce MacDonald, President and CEO of Imagine Canada. “It’s a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that is meant to build public trust and confidence in the charitable sector. These organizations take accountability and operational transparency very seriously. We’re glad to have them on board.”

Our policies and procedures in the five areas of compliance were evaluated by a group of volunteers from the sector, and were found to be compliant with the Standards Program.

For more information on Imagine Canada’s Standards Program, please visit

http://www.imaginecanada.ca/our-programs/standards-program

About Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre

Founded in 1999, OPNC is a charitable organization created by the community, for the community. OPNC supports youth, family, and outreach, with the core goals of building friendships, strengthening our children, and creating healthy neighbourhoods.

Today, OPNC supports over 500 families and their children out of 2200 Sawgrass Drive in Oakville. Our programming includes family drop-ins, a Child Development Resource Centre, children’s reading and tutoring club, speech therapy, community gardens, parenting support and workshops, utility bill payment assistance, a food bank, and other programs that directly meet and serve the needs of our neighbourhood.

For more information, including a complete list of programming, please visit www.opnc.ca/programs

For further information: Michelle Knoll, Executive Director, Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre