A Note to Teachers and Parents
Lancer was born from a conversation had between parents and teachers about the increasing struggles to provide quality education and well-being to students, especially after COVID-19 dramatically disrupted the system. Since that first conversation, we have had dozens more with teachers across Canada about needs of teachers and students.
These conversations are the reason we have made decisions such as incorporating mental health as a core tenant of the work. What we have learned is that teachers increasingly feel as if they must do more with less. However, in the context of a crowdfunding platform, they did not want to see Lancer be used as a replacement for provincial responsibilities to students.
We also learned that there are many cultural events and creative activities in the minds of teachers that cannot be implemented into the curriculum due to deprioritization. We heard testimonials from educators who had seen the difference between a child with a robust school experience and one without.
In many cases, the teachers involved in these conversations were also parents who expressed their own hopes and concerns from a more personal point of view.
Based on this feedback, Lancer has instituted these guiding principles:
No projects will be allowed that request anything Lancer believes is the responsibility of the government to provide (textbooks or basic school supplies)
All funds raised are sent to school boards to be distributed to teachers, to eliminate the potential for misuse of funds
No images of children will be used in crowdfunding campaigns unless with express written permission of parents
Unlike other crowdfunding platforms, campaigns cannot be overfunded.
As we continue to organically find ways of improving the experience and impact of Lancer, we encourage more teachers and parents to offer feedback and suggestions. To contact us, please use the form below.
