THE BATTLEFORDS - According to a release from Living Sky School Division, March 30 marked the official launch of the Living Sky Innovation Fund.
Money raised will be used to support innovative projects meant to take education into the next generation in areas such as nutrition, extra-curricular activities,
and truth and reconciliation initiatives. More than $10,000 has been committed to the fund so far.
Beth Walls, vice-president of marketing and community relations with Discovery Co-op, presented the first of five payments to the division as part of a $10,000 commitment the Co-op has made to the fund over the next five years, earmarked for the advancement of cultural learning projects.
“At Discovery Co-op, we recognize the importance of acknowledging and addressing the historical injustices that have affected First Nations people. Through this donation to the Living Sky Innovation Fund, we are proud to support the healing process and work towards a more inclusive and respectful future for all. We look forward to the impact this partnership will have on our community," Walls said.
Innovation Credit Union also committed $500 to the fund. Vice president of member advisors, Chad Gartner, said, “One of our mandates is to be involved in the community, not because we have to be, but because we want to be ... to be able to provide the opportunity for our students to have equitable growth in areas that will be supported by the Living Sky Innovation Fund speaks to how we want to support our communities. We are very happy to be a part of it.”
The release says that the vision for the fund is to be innovative, encourage creativity and support projects and initiatives that will better serve students now and in the future.
This year several projects ran pilot programs that, with support from the fund, could be scaled to include more schools. One project looked at several schools who had lost over 15 days of learning the past year due to extreme weather and asked, ‘what if we could make learning happen everyday - despite the weather.’
Another looked at creating spaces for students to celebrate and connect to their culture through the creation of a Cree kindergarten program. Supported by the Living Sky Innovation Fund these and many projects like them could be established and rolled out across the division.
For a deeper glimpse into the winter learning project at Luseland, Maymont, and Cut Knife, read the full story.
“We are so grateful to Discovery Co-op and Innovation Credit Union for being the first to see the potential we see in the Innovation Fund. This is our way of growing and being able to provide growth without limits, learning for all, for our students. The support of these two businesses is the kick-start we needed for the launch,” said Christeena Fisher, LSKYSD executive assistant and project lead for the fund.
For more information about the fund or to find out how to get involved, visit .
