Editorial from Ottawa SUN

Share our prosperity - Anyone who has been paying attention to the City of Ottawa over the past couple of decades can tick off the benefits of living in the nation's capital. We're clean. We're green. There are jobs available almost for the asking; recreation facilities in nearly every neighbourhood. We have interesting ethnic enclaves and housing options for most every budget. Yet life's not quite perfect. There are people in need in our city. There are children who go to school hungry every morning; teens who drift into trouble because they have too much time on their hands and no strong role models to emulate. There are seniors who spend too much time alone; whose health is failing them. There are foreign-trained professionals driving cabs and making hotel beds because they can't find jobs in their own fields. There are people with mental problems and physical limitations who don't share in the prosperity of the city because we haven't learned to accommodate them in the mainstream. But for all those people in our midst with problems there is hope. There is hope because the rest of us -- those who have managed to catch the wave of success and, dare we say it? prosperity - will not rest until we have done what we can to share our good fortune with others.

Starting today, and for the next 10 weeks, we'll have the chance to prove it. This morning, the annual United Way fundraising campaign kicks into gear and its organizers will be looking for a record amount of money. United Way has chosen police chief Vince Bevan as its campaign chairman this year - a man who, in his long and distinguished career in law enforcement, has seen up close the problems that poverty and despair can cause. Ottawa, says the chief, is a wonderful city - one of the fastest growing and most prosperous in all of Canada and the U.S. "But to be a truly great city, it has to be great for everyone," says Bevan. That, he says, means providing a safe and healthy environment for every child, opportunity for every disabled person to grow to his or her potential, the chance for every foreign-trained worker to realize the dreams they had when they came to Canada. The agencies funded by United Way are there for those in need, but they need the support of every one of us who is able to help. Get involved. Play a role. Become one of United Way's Everyday Heroes.